P4G: Messiah
by Yami no Majou077
Summary: P3P x P4G AU. Two years after Minato turns to Great Seal, an unexpected encounter pulls him away from the seal and falls to TV World. Now, he loses part of his memories. Together with the Investigation Team, he needs to get back his memories and prevent the seal from breaking, while helping the team to discover the truth of the murder cases. Cover Image owned! Chapters edited!
1. Chapter 1

"…Did he run away?"

A pale-looking woman with silky long black hair looked to her sickly striking white skin, glaring on the tainted marks that were left by the battle a moment ago. Her face twisted and seemed quite furious that she just let the person escaped.

Once again, she stared at the stone door above. The chains on the door were gone, yet the door didn't seem to open at all.

The statue that was chained to the door was nowhere to be found. She couldn't sense the power from the person, and the seal on the door was disappeared.

However, things didn't go as the way she thought.

What went wrong?

"It seems they play some tricks on the seal."

She turned around to find another pale looking woman with long white robe covered her body. Her lips crooked into a light smile.

"How annoying…and I thought everything would end by pulling the **Messiah** from the seal…" The black-haired woman bit her finger repeatedly.

"I'm glad that it's not over yet…but then again, that's the Messiah who are able to leave injuries on our **Revenge Goddess** …impressive."

Hearing that, Revenge Goddess let out a sigh.

" **Izanami** , it seems the Messiah has fallen to the World of Human Consciousness. Can I leave him to you?"

"Of course. Will it be a problem if I kill him?"

"He's all yours."

Smiling, Izanami looked to Revenge Goddess who spread her wings opened.

"What are you going to do now?"

"…I'm going to investigate the tricks they play on the seal. Maybe I can break the seal at the same time." Revenge Goddess raised a smirk.

"Doubt it. Things may not work as smoothly as you think."

"…The same goes for you too. Don't look down on humans…after all, they even won the battle against the unbeatable Night Goddess."

Revenge Goddess flew up to the air and headed to other direction, leaving Izanami alone.

Izanami simply shrugged, taking a glance at the stone door before turning to her back.

"Well, they do go beyond my expectation. But…I doubt they can reach to me."

* * *

He woke up in a foggy place.

His head was aching like hell. Using one hand to rub his temple, he tried to stand up. However, his strength didn't permit it and fell back down.

Sighing, he sat on the floor, trying to ease his pain.

Despite his head, his body was aching as well. His muscles and limbs were screaming and throbbing as if broken apart. What happened to him? Where was him? Why was he here?

Lots of questions came to mind, yet he couldn't answer any of them.

"…Damn."

He blew his long bangs, falling to his back.

He felt sick of this place. His head was even aching due to the terrible vision. With all the fogs, he could see nothing.

However, laying here wouldn't change the fact. He sighed, slowly getting up from the floor and sat crossed-leg.

"…Okay, let's catch up."

He needed to clear his mind first. He really needed to grab the situation before deciding what to do next.

His name was Minato Arisato. His parents died in a car crash ten years ago…wait, was it ten years? What's the year now? Uh…never mind that. His parents died in an accident, and then he was forced to move from places to places, relatives to relatives. He had no friend, or rather, he preferred to stay alone, and built a wall to block away from other people.

But everything changed since he transferred back to Iwatodai, the place he was born, and the place where had changed his fate.

Once again, fate had made a joke on him. He gained the power of persona and started became active as a member of SEES. He didn't know why, but people started to gather around him, calling him as friends.

He felt alive, after ten years of plain and lonely life.

His friend brought life to him. To protect them, he's willing to do everything. And so, he used up all his vitality to seal the Night Goddess away.

Yes, he was supposed died. He was the Great Seal.

And then…

Another desperate sigh escaped out of his mouth.

And then, he lost part of his memories from here.

Great, he completely lost now.

He looked to the surrounding. The vision was still bad, but he had to find out where he was right now. Perhaps he should explore the place first and look for an exit.

Stretching his body as he felt the pain faded, he took a step forward. Thanks to the fog, he had to move very slowly. He had suffered enough of the unknown pain. He didn't want to get into any trouble. Somehow, he felt a sense of Tartarus in this place. The atmosphere seemed so much alike. For a moment, he thought he had back to Tartarus.

He had no idea how long he walked. He kept walking until he found the scene changed. He followed the small path and finally saw a store. He knocked the door, but no response came out. Out of curiosity, he pushed the door opened and peeked inside.

"…What is this?"

It looked like a liquor store, as most of the goods were liquors and wines. They scattered all over the floor like someone purposely threw and damaged. Minato quickly covered his nose when he smelled some terrible smell. By this time, he completely lost the interest to explore further into the store. Plus, he didn't feel the need to do so when nobody was inside. At the end, he decided to leave.

The store completely disappeared in the fog as he moved on. The store didn't seem like a normal liquor store he used to see on street. It covered in a shade of darkness…perhaps, a mix of furious and sadness. He had no idea what happened to this place, and he didn't have time to figure it out. All he could do was leaving it behind.

He could barely see the road ahead, not knowing where it would lead him. Guess he needed to rely on his luck. Not long after he left the liquor store, he found a building that would only appear in the fairy tale. Staring at the pink castle, he almost jaw-dropped.

What had he seen?

He let out a big sigh, running his hand through his hair. Frustration started to build inside as he rubbed his head and walking to the castle front gate. This castle was suspicious. Unlike the liquor store, this was hundred times dangerous. Judging from its appearance, it should have seven floors or above. He carefully opened the gate, expecting anything would welcome him. However, instead of finding anyone inside, he only saw an empty floor with uncountable doors and hallways.

Great. This completely overturned his idea of the castle.

No gorgeous chandelier and exaggeration furnishing, or neither the fairy tale joyous. There were only weird shady hallways and creepy noises from nowhere. Haunted Castle was more suitable to describe it.

Minato hesitated for a while before taking a step into the castle. He wondered was it a good idea to explore this place. He was unarmed. All he left were an MP3 Player and a familiar fake gun. That was to say, the only way he could use to fight was using the persona.

This was too risky. He couldn't afford to fight enemies with his current state of fatigue. He sighed, backing off from the gate.

However, an unexpected encounter occurred the moment he turned to his back.

Few shadows surrounded him when he paid full attention to the castle. This made Minato twisted his brows on how the shadows surrounded him without making any noise like they suddenly showed up from nowhere.

Great. They totally blocked the escaped route, and running under such a thick fog was an extremely bad idea. His hand reached to the gate and pushed it opened. Without hesitation, he ran inside and slammed the gate shut, running through the hallways.

This castle was like a maze, and the worse was, there were shadows in this castle too. But they were weaker to those surrounded him outside. He could easily evade their attacks and took the opportunity to escape.

He heard a loud bang. It seemed those shadows destroyed the gate and got into the castle. He cursed, opened the door before him, and found a stair to the other floor.

And then, an idea struck him.

"…Maybe I can beat them." He smirked and closed the door behind.

* * *

"Are you sure you're not kidding us?"

Yosuke narrowed his eyes, glaring down at Teddie.

"I'm beaaaaaary sure about it!" Teddie waved his hands up and down, looking to Yu with teary eyes. "Sensei~"

Yu chuckled helplessly, looking to his other friends. Including himself, all of them looked doubtful.

Well, Teddie could never blame them about this.

They just rescued Kanji a few days ago. Since then, they didn't saw anyone appeared on the Midnight Channel, or neither they heard anyone was missing. They knew all they needed to do now was waiting for Kanji to recover.

But, things seemed a little bit out of ordinary now.

Today, they planned to come to TV World just for training. But they were shocked when Teddie told them another person was trapped in this world.

But, how? They rescued Kanji, and no one appeared on Midnight Channel. How did the person get in here?

"Alright, alright Teddie." He patted his head to calm him down. "Where is the person?"

"Hmm…I think he or she is somewhere here." Teddie pointed to the direction at the front.

"Isn't that the way leads to Yukiko's place?" Chie raised her brows, crossing her arms.

"H-Huh? My place!?" Yukiko's face burnt up, clutching on Chie's arm. "A-Are you sure about it!?"

She sent a killing aura to warn Teddie: I'll kill you if you dare to lie! and made Teddie shivered in fear.

Yu rubbed his forehead and sighed.

"Let's go there…just in case. You okay, Yukiko?"

"I-I'm fine…don't worry about me." Yukiko raised a bitter smile to assure him.

They followed the pointed direction and headed to Yukiko's castle. Part of them hoped Teddie was wrong, but part of them knew full well that Teddie wasn't the type to lie. That's why they agreed to check on it.

And then, they found something very unusual.

"W-What is that…?" Chie pointed the shattered gate and the shadow that seemed to guard there.

"Watch out!"

The shadow – Crying Table cast Magaru upon seeing the team. The wind blew ferociously to the team. Beside Yosuke who was strong against Wind Element attack, the others managed to dodge it.

"T-This is the same shadow we saw in Kanji's Steamy Bathhouse!" Teddie shouted, running for his life.

"Alright, Chie, your turn!"

"Got it!"

A Tarot card floated above Chie's head while she kicked it with one leg.

"Come on, Tomoe!"

A long black hair and yellow suit woman appeared in front of Chie and release Bufu to the Crying Table. As expected, the Crying Table immediately went down due to its weakness. Then, it's time for All-Out Attack.

"Phew…"

"A piece of cake…but what happened to the castle?" Yosuke looked to the shattered gate with a frown.

"Teddie, do you find anything?" Yu turned his gaze to Teddie, who was hiding behind him.

"I-I don't know…b-but I sense strong shadows inside the castle…" Poor Teddie, he kept trembling.

It seemed thing was very unusual now. If there's truly someone trapped inside, his or her life was in great danger.

"Hey…there weren't these kinds of shadows the last time we're here." Yosuke crossed his arms, frowning.

"Perhaps…these shadows are targeting the person inside," Yukiko said with a hint of worry. "Yu-kun, we need to hurry."

"Yeah, we must save the person, no matter what!" Chie balled her fists, already fired up.

"Teddie, you stay behind."

"Y-Yes, sensei…"

"Alright, let's go!"

* * *

Minato shuttled from floors to floors, taking down the shadows one by one. He used the narrowness of floors and floors to create the chance to fight back. Up until now, he managed to kill most of them, but the toughest enemy was no other than this – Prime Magus.

Worst of all, he began to feel physically exhausted. He was already fatigued. Summoning persona greatly consumed his strength in physical and mental.

How long would he last?

He forced himself stopped from panting heavily. He stood straight, examining the room he was currently in.

This was supposed to be the top floor. He didn't find any hallways here, and the room looked like a Throne Room.

"…Looks like today's not my day."

Prime Magus's toughest trick was the powerful magic it cast. It's extremely powerful that he doubted he could take it under such condition. But still…he smirked. There's no way he would surrender to a shadow.

He tried to dodge each of the Agidyne the shadow cast and pulled the trigger of the evoker.

"Orpheus!"

Orpheus cast Fire Agi on Prime Magus, but the attack didn't seem to work at all.

"…So, even they look almost the same, but not the same, huh?"

If he remembered correctly, Prime Magus's weakness should be fire. But this Prime Magus seemed to be strong against fire element. This was too bad. He couldn't hear any of the personas he required before heeded to his call.

He lost the Wild Card.

What else could he do to kill this shadow?

"There he is!"

"…Hmm?"

Did he hear something?

Minato turned his head to the gate, eyes widened when he saw four people and one bear ran to him.

"Wow! That shadow…it looks strong!" Yosuke pulled out his two knives. "Jiraiya!"

The wind blew but did no damage on the shadow.

"Oh no! this one is beaaaaary strong! Watch out!" Teddie hugged his head, leaning against the door and trembling.

When Yosuke and Jiraiya distracted Prime Magus, Yu quickly ran to Minato and brought him out of the battlefield.

"Are you alright?" Yu asked with concerned. He frowned due to the tiredness of the blue-haired boy.

Minato could feel the strength from the silver-haired boy so he didn't protest. He knew he really needed some help. Although he had no idea who they were, the fact that they were persona user had lifted his worries. Besides, from the grasp of the silver-haired boy, Minato felt something ran through his body, like a stream of energy.

He felt familiar. It evoked something at the back of his mind.

Could the boy be…?

"Arghhh!" Yosuke fell to their side. "Damn, it's hot!"

"I'll help you!" Taking Yosuke's place, Chie summoned Tomoe.

"We leave the shadow to Yosuke and Chie. Yukiko, please heal him." Yu ordered while checking the two.

"Okay." Yukiko summoned Konohana Sakuya to cast Dia on him. He felt a surge of energy floated into his body, lifting the pain and exhaustion from him.

"This shadow strong against wind and ice! What should we do, Yu!?" Yosuke shouted, bracing himself to endure the Agidyne from Prime Magus. Chie held Yosuke's arm to keep balance.

"…It strong against fire as well. Try electrical or physical skill." Minato murmured softly, but Yu and Yukiko clearly heard it.

"How did you…"

Yosuke and Chie's scream caught Yu's attention back. He cursed and ran to his friends. He crushed the Tarot Card in hand, summoned Izanagi to cast Zio on Prime Magus. As expected, Zio did more damage to it, yet it wasn't enough to defeat the shadow. Then, Yu ordered Yosuke and Chie to attack Prime Magus with the physical attack.

They got into a tough battle.

Minato could see it, they weren't strong enough to match the shadow.

Not long after, Chie and Yosuke both were sent back by the powerful Agidyne. They were greatly injured, especially Chie who was weak to the fire element.

"Chie!"

Yu gritted his teeth, summoned Saki Mitama to heal the team.

Prime Magus always used Mind Charge before casting Agidyne on them. it's a pain to deal with it.

Seeing her friends in danger, after done with the healing, Yukiko immediately joined the battle. She used Agilao on Prime Magus, but the result was disappointing.

"…It really strong against fire." She bit her bottom lip, looking to Yu.

"S-Sensei, let's flee! W-We should run now!" Teddie cried out at the back. It's was too hurt to see the team fought under such condition.

Yu knew that too, but he was too busy in handling the shadow. They couldn't be possibly fled without damage. He blocked the Agidyne with his two-handed sword, but the sword flicked out from his grasp due to the pain and numb on his hands.

"Dammit!"

"Yu!"

"Yu-kun!"

Once again, Prime Magus cast Agidyne to Yu. He quickly changed his persona to fire resistance type, hoping it would help to reduce the damage. He shut his eyes.

"Not here!"

Minato grabbed Yu's two-handed sword and blocked the attack for him. Yu widened his eyes but quickly lent Minato a hand.

Ever since he felt something on Yu, Minato started to have some strange feeling. A surge of energy rose, and he felt that he could do it now.

"Hey, what are you doing!?"

At the corner of his eyes, Yu saw Minato raised a gun to his temple. Yet, the blue-haired boy completely ignored him, slowly pulled the trigger.

To summon his other self – **Orpheus Telos**.

"Come on!"

Blue scattered fragments burst out from his head, a figure with golden hair and red body appeared behind Minato.

"Victory Cry!"

Yu could feel energy floated in his body and the injuries slowly faded. He looked to his other friends, found the same things happened to them. Gazing back to the blue-haired boy, he frowned when he saw the pale face of the boy.

"Hey, stop -"

"It's not over yet." Panting, Minato summoned Orpheus Telos once more, using Thunder Reign on Prime Magus. The shadow screamed in pain and turned to ash in the next second.

The team was completely dumbfounded. They saw the blue-haired boy slowly collapsed. Fortunately, Yu was there to hold him.

"W-Who is this guy?" Yosuke scratched his cheek.

"He beat that shadow!" Chie cheered out.

"Is he…like us, can summon persona?" Yukiko slightly hesitated.

Looking for the boy, Yu had no idea how to answer his friends' questions. One thing he knew that this blue-haired boy wasn't ordinary. There must be meaning in their meeting.

He checked on the blue-haired boy. No major injuries were found, yet his pale face showed how fatigue and tired he was.

"…Let's get him out of here. He really needs some rest."

* * *

Okay, my first attempt on P3P x P4G.

About the battle scene, I have no intention to make Minato overpower, or rather making Investigation Team weaker than Minato. However, in fact, Investigation Team now is truly weaker, while Minato is the Messiah. So, I decided to make him slightly stronger than Yu. In the future chapter, Minato could no longer summon Orpheus Telos. He will only require his initial persona Orpheus. As the story goes on, he will grow stronger enough to summon other personas, such as Thanatos, Orpheus Telos, and Messiah.

Well then, see you next time!


	2. Chapter 2

The Investigation Team carefully brought Minato out from TV World. As usual, they avoided being found out and took the boy to the food court and let him rest on the bench.

"Uh…so, what should we do now?" Yosuke asked, looking to Yu, their leader.

"He's really exhausted," Yukiko said with a hint of worry. Although they had no idea who he was, he saved them. That's the fact they couldn't deny.

"Anyway, how did he get into that world?" Chie frowned, face rested on her palm. "He even has persona before facing his true self."

Yu raised a brow at Chie's words.

Judging from his movements, the blue-haired boy's not a novice. Although his movements were stiff, he seemed to have a lot of experience dealing with shadows or even fighting. Perhaps, he fought them more than they did.

There's one more thing that he was curious about.

The way he summoned persona.

"Did anyone of you see how he summons persona?" Yu asked, but the three merely shook their heads.

"No idea. I didn't see any Tarot Card." Hesitating for a while, Yosuke couldn't recall a bit. For all he could remember, he was busy treating Chie's wounds at that time.

Yukiko lowered her head, pondering for a while before lifting her head and looked at Yu.

"…I don't remember either, but you shouted something to him, wasn't it?"

Yu nodded.

"Yes." He couldn't help but smile. If anyone of them saw the way the blue-haired boy summoned a persona, they would do the same thing as him. His hand reached to the pocket and took out a silver gun. "It seems this is the thing he uses to summon persona."

"A…gun?" The three looked at each other, color drained from their faces.

"Don't tell me…" Yosuke grimaced, turning his gaze to the blue-haired boy.

"He shoots at his temple," Yu recalled the scene. "…I saw some blue fragments burst out from his head, and then persona appeared."

No doubt about it. Among all of them, he was the closest to the boy at that time. He saw it clearly.

So, there's another way to summon persona. Interesting.

"…I'm just as surprised as you."

"Whoa! When did you get up!?" Yosuke jerked up from the bench.

"…The moment you talk about the evoker." Minato struggled to get up. Seeing that, Yosuke quickly lent him a hand. "Thanks…"

"How are you feeling?" Yukiko asked. His face was as white as a sheet of paper. It's hard to ignore his exhaustion.

"You still need rest. Don't push yourself too hard." Even Chie said that.

Minato sighed. He knew he looked terrible. And he knew he still needed rest, as his head ached like he was tearing.

"…What is this place?" This place looked like a food court, but not many people around.

"This is Junes, a shop runs by Yosuke's father," Yu answered his question.

Junes? Never heard about it. And Yosuke was…?

Yu looked through his question and answered before he asked anything.

"This is Yosuke Hanamura." He introduced the brown-haired boy sat next to Minato. "I am Yu Narukami."

"Chie Satonaka here!" The short-haired girl greeted him.

"I am Yukiko Amagi, nice to meet you." The black-haired girl chuckled lightly.

"…Minato Arisato." He rubbed his head, eyelids started to feel heavy. "Anyway, can you give it back to me?"

"Sure." Yu handed the fake gun to the boy. "This is…not real, right?"

"Does it look real to you?" Minato smirked, earning a light chuckle from Yu. "…What's the name of this town?"

Judging from the feeling of the place, it seemed like a countryside. It felt totally different than Iwatodai. The air was fresh and comfortable. He could tell this was a nice place.

"Dude, you don't even know where you are?" Yosuke was amused.

"You're in Yasoinaba, a countryside town." Again, Yu gave him an answer. "Where are you staying? We'll take you home."

"Yeah, we never see you before!" Chie added while Yukiko nodded as a sign of supporting.

He wanted to know the answer as much as them…Minato rolled his eyes, didn't know how to explain to them. Especially the silver-haired boy, although he didn't show on his face, his eyes showed doubt on him. Clearly, he doubted him.

Taking note, Minato carefully chose his words.

"…I don't have a place to stay." For a moment, Minato saw Yu's gaze sharpened.

Not only Yu, the others also felt unusual. They simply frowned, and Chie turned to Yukiko.

"Then, what if Amagi Inn? Yukiko, is it alright he stays there?"

Yukiko tilted her head. "…It shouldn't be a problem. I'll inform my parents."

"Wait…wait a moment. Did you say inn, just now?" Chie and Yukiko both nodded, staring at Minato with questions. "No…um, I don't have money. And I don't have any proof of identity."

Great. He's making himself more suspicious.

But then again, for now, he had to be true to himself. He had to show them he had nothing to hide.

Hearing that, Yukiko was speechless. She looked at the others for help, but they had no idea what to do.

"…I'll take him home." At last, Yu said, rubbing his head.

"Are you sure? You know…your uncle?" Yosuke raised his brows, grimaced.

"Yeah…your uncle is a detective. Will it be okay?" Chie also uncertain. For her, it's better to place Minato in Yukiko's place. She felt safer that way.

"It's okay. I'll try to convince him. After all, Minato saves my life. It's my responsibility to take care of him."

Detective? The word rang a bell in Minato's dizzy mind. He slowly lost consciousness. The last thing he heard was Yosuke's voice.

"Okay, I'll help you."

* * *

Yosuke and Yu carried Minato back to Dojima's house.

The blue-haired boy was lighter than they imagined. They took him without much effort. Yu thought, maybe he could carry the boy all by himself.

"Welcome back, big bro!" Nanako greeted him with a bright smile.

"Yo Nanako-chan!"

"Hello, do you come to play?" Nanako walked to the entrance, tilting her head when she saw her big bro carried someone behind. "Big bro, who is that?"

"This is a friend of me. He's exhausted. Can he stay here for a while? I'll talk to uncle later." Yu explained to the little girl, hoping to look her understanding.

Nanako looked to Minato and back to her big bro. She seemed to find the pale face of the blue-haired and looked worried.

"Will he be alright?"

"Don't worry, Nanako-chan. He chatted with us before falling into sleep." Yosuke assured the girl. "He just needs some sleep now."

Yu gave him an appreciated smile. Then, he nodded to Nanako as a sign 'don't worry'.

"Okay...I'll prepare something for him to eat!"

"Then, I should go now. Text me if he's awake." Yosuke gave them a goodbye before walking out from Dojima Residence.

Yu carried the blue-haired boy up to his room and placed him on the futon. Seeing Minato's sleeping face, Yu wondered how he should explain to his uncle. He wasn't sure if he could convince Dojima. Depending on the situation, Minato would stay here for a period.

He sighed.

Anyway, he would do his best, the rest…depended on how Minato told the truth.

* * *

He heard some noise.

Light pierced into his eyes as he opened them. Sitting up on the futon, Minato rubbed his eyes and head, revealing his right eyes.

He indeed felt a little better, but it's not enough for him to fully recover.

How long did he sleep? And, where was he?

He looked around the room, suddenly recalling that Yu was the one taking him home before losing consciousness. Oh yeah…his uncle was a detective, huh?

Great. He had a feeling that an interrogation would soon hold. He was no doubt the one being interrogated.

His mind went blank. Dammit.

He idly sat there without moving, until Yu walked into the room.

"You're awake?" A little bit surprised by the blue-haired boy, Yu paused for a while before sitting next to Minato. "How are you feeling?"

"…Not good." Minato let out a yawn. "Anyway, thank you for the futon…"

"Don't mention it. Nanako made you dinner. You may come down and eat with us."

"Nanako…?" Minato raised a brow.

"My cousin. By the way," Yu straightened his posture. Minato could see something was coming to him. "Later, I need you to cooperate with me."

"…What do you mean?"

"I have talked to my uncle, including how we found you, and you don't seem to have any proof of identity." Yu rubbed his chin and stared at Minato. "Basically, we found you unconscious near Junes when we gathered at the food court. We woke you up and was planned to take you to the hospital, but without any proof of identity, we couldn't. Considering from your current exhaustion, I decided to bring you back. That's the whole story I made up to my uncle."

Pondering, Minato gazed back at Yu and nodded.

"…Got it. It's not far from the truth." He couldn't ask more, anyway. "Did you tell your uncle my name?"

"…No, not yet." Yu frowned. He couldn't read the boy's thought.

"I'll go with the story you made up. The rest…you can leave it to me." Ignoring the aching of the limbs, Minato forced himself to stand up.

He had to hang on, not until he cleared his suspicious.

Yu lent some of his clothes to the blue-haired boy. Although they looked quite big on him, Minato just shrugged it off. After that, he followed Yu to downstair.

"What's the year now?" Out of the blue, Minato paused and asked.

Yu was startled by him but answered with his usual calm.

"2011…is something wrong?"

"2011…no, it's nothing. Thanks." Minato smiled softly.

So, it's been two years since then? Time sure was fast.

Minato saw a serious looking man sat on the sofa with a cup of coffee. In front of him was a little girl, who was watching the TV.

"Oh, big bro!" She saw the blue-haired boy behind Yu. "Are you okay?"

"This is Nanako, my cousin."

"I'm fine. Thanks, Nanako-chan." Minato patted the girl's head gently.

Nanako giggled lightly with a red face.

"I'll take the porridge for you."

Feeling warm in heart, Minato let out a sigh. Turning his head and looked at the serious man, he knew there was a tough fight ahead.

"This is my uncle, Ryotaro Dojima. Uncle, he is the one I talked to you earlier." Yu introduced. He purposely not mentioned Minato's name to Dojima, planning to see what Minato meant earlier.

"I'm sorry for the trouble I have caused to you and Yu. My name is Makoto Yuki."

The moment Minato mentioned his name, Yu widened his eyes in shock. But with Dojima here, he gulped back whatever in his mind, listening to their conversation carefully.

"…I've heard your story from Yu." Dojima motioned Minato to take his seat. "As you can see, I am a detective. Mind explain it to me about yourself, clearly?"

Minato could see Dojima's gaze sharpened. That's the eyes of the detective, trying to find anything from him. Indeed, he was Yu's uncle…even the gazes were almost identical.

He sighed mentally.

"…I am a seventeen years old high school student living in Tokyo. I live in the school dorm. I don't know why I am here in Yasoinaba, or how I don't have my personal things with me. To tell you the truth, I seem to lose part of my memories."

Yu and Dojima raised their brows at the same time.

Although Yu didn't understand him, he never expected that would come out from him. And…Yu secretly took a glance to Dojima, wondered would it convince the man.

"Losing…part of memories?" Dojima hissed. "Do you expect me to believe it?"

"That's the truth, even if you don't believe me." Minato simply shrugged.

Dojima remained silent for a while. He sighed.

"…Do you know the serial murder case happened in Inaba?" Suddenly, Dojima asked.

"Serial murder case?" Surprised, Minato looked at Yu. The silver-haired boy simply shifted his gaze.

So, was there any connection to that world with these murder cases?

"First the announcer Mayumi Yamano. Second the high school girl Saki Konishi. They both were murdered at the early of April." Dojima put down the coffee. "Do you get it? Inaba isn't safe for the period. The culprit is still out there looking for next victim, perhaps. And you, I never see you before. Don't you think your appearance is too suspicious?"

That's the case. Minato had mastered the situation, and damn, he's in a bad position.

"…Which, you suspect me as the culprit?"

"I guess, it is normal for me to suspect you."

"I don't deny the possibility of me being the culprit. If you want to take me to the police station, go ahead." Minato gave Dojima a deadpan look. "However, I am not the culprit. I didn't know about these murder cases until a minute ago. One more thing, you said the serial murder case happened at the early of April, but now is June. If I am here during April, a stranger such as me will be fast recognized by the people in the town."

At last, he rubbed his temple.

"…Do you think I can hide in this small town without being found out by anyone of you for two months?"

"Ummm…..." Dojima shot him a deadly glare. He rubbed his chin and stared at the blue-haired boy. Whenever Yu wanted to interrupt, Dojima would send him another glare to shut him down.

The room filled with awkward tension.

But Minato completely ignored it, simply let out a yawn.

He was tired. He wanted to go back to the futon.

"Dad…are you fighting?" Nanako stood in the back with hot porridge, asked timidly. She looked gloomy and scared.

Yu took over the porridge from her.

"It's…not like that. Mina-I mean, Makoto is discussing with uncle." He comforted her.

"Really…?"

"It's true. I'm asking Dojima-san whether he can let me stay here." Minato smiled gently, but his eyes showed a hint of evil instead.

"W-What?" Dojima almost dropped the coffee.

"I can't proof my innocent, and you don't trust me either. What if I stay here for the time being, so you or Yu can monitor me? It will help me a lot since I don't have a place to stay."

Dojima was speechless.

His suggestion was indeed great. But why he felt he was being cheated? Was he being cheated?

Looking at his uncle's face, Yu couldn't help but chuckle lightly.

What a cheeky guy.

"Nanako, what do you say?"

"You don't have a place to stay?" Nanako tilted her head. Staring at her cute face, Minato nodded. "Dad, I don't have any problem, since he is a friend of big bro. I think he is a good person."

"Thank you, Nanako-chan."

"Err…whatever." The father surrendered at last. "…Don't dare to do anything strange. You got it?"

He shot a death glare to the blue-haired boy.

"…Do you mind if I look around the town? I think it will help me to get my memories back."

"Fine. I'll do my job either. Yu, he's on your hand."

"…Yes."

* * *

After the awkward dinner, Yu and Minato got back to the room.

"…Alright, I think it's time you should explain to me, 'Makoto Yuki'-san?" Yu folded his arms, alerted.

"I prefer being called as Minato." Letting out a yawn, he sat on the sofa.

"Why are you using a fake name?"

Gazing at the boy's serious yet doubted face, Minato wondered how should he explain.

He wasn't supposed to tell him his name either. He was too dizzy to think about it.

Anyway, he knew about that world and persona. Trying to fool the boy would only put himself into a bad position. There were things he couldn't tell Dojima, but he had a feeling that he could tell Yu, and he should.

After all, he needed help to get back his memories.

He let Yu sat down first. Both now were facing each other.

"…I will tell you everything you want to know. Go ahead and ask. In exchange, tell me about that world, and the purpose you explore it. It's deal."

Yu frowned, but agreed, regardless.

"Alright, a deal."

"…Actually, I died two years ago."

Hearing that, Yu immediately frowned.

"…Pardon?"

"I said, I'm dead," Minato repeated, patiently. He knew this would come! "I'm serious."

"…Then, what are you? A walking dead?"

Oh great. How did he maintain his cool?

"Do you want to hear a story? It's quite long, I'll try to focus on the points."

With a nod from the silver-haired boy, Minato started to tell the incident two years ago, about the Apathy Syndrome, Dark Hour, Tartarus, persona, twelve Arcana Shadows, the Harbinger of Death, and finally, his last battle with the Night Goddess Nyx.

"…I sealed Nyx by using all my vitality. Later, on my friend's graduation day, I died and became the Great Seal."

Yu didn't interrupt. Minato could see he was trying to understand the incident. It's difficult for someone never went through the incident to believe it, but since Yu knew about persona, he hoped he would believe in him.

Minato waited for him patiently, until Yu lifted his gaze and looked at him.

"…Alright, if the story is true, the reason you use the fake name is related to this?"

"Yeah…" Minato nodded, paused for a while. "…You uncle is a detective. What do you think he will do when knowing I don't have any proof of identity?"

"To get your personal info and…" Suddenly, a thought went through Yu's head. "You mean…"

"After getting my personal info, he will start request any missing people report from the place I live. Furthermore, he would request permission to check my info online, or the worst, to have someone to investigate me. Can you imagine his look when he finds out I'm dead?"

This would happen sooner or later, he added at the end.

Yu sighed, seemed convinced.

"…I get it." He seemed to relax a bit. "If you're dead, why are you here?"

"I've told you, I lost part of my memories. I want to know the reason more than anyone." Minato bit his bottom lip. "…I'll have to get back to the seal, or else…"

"About the seal…since you've been pulled away, will Nyx descend to the world?"

"…Temporary it's fine. You don't have to worry about it." He recalled the auburn-haired girl, letting out a light chuckle. "Anyway, back to the serial murder case. It's related to that world, right?"

"…I didn't purposely hide from you." Before explaining, Yu apologized. "Everything started from a rumor called Midnight Channel. According to the rumor, when the time strikes twelve in midnight, you will see your soul mate in front of an off television. However, that's not true. Instead of soulmate, we saw the victims who were being thrown into the TV World."

He paused for a while, checking if Minato followed him before continuing.

"Those victims met their other selves in the TV World. If they stay in that world before the fog lifts, their other selves will go berserk and attack them. Mayumi Yamano and Saki-senpai…that are the truth of their death." And he did a quick brief to Minato on the status they were currently in.

"…What about the pink castle and liquor store in that world?"

"The liquor store represented Saki-senpai, while pink castle represented Yukiko. That's their area…where their other selves appeared. We managed to save Yukiko and Kanji Tatsumi before the fog lifts. Once the victims accepted their other selves, it would turn into a persona. Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko, and Kanji…they all obtained their personas in the same way."

"How about you?"

"…I never face my other self. I…don't know how I get this power." Lowering his head, Yu said with a hint of confusion.

Letting out a sigh, Minato lay on the sofa.

"…Are we done yet? I'm sleepy."

"Sorry…we can discuss this tomorrow with the others. I think they're interested in your story as well." Yu stood up. "You can use the futon -"

"It's okay, I can sleep on the sofa." Minato closed his eyes, ignoring Yu. He wasn't that cheeky, though.

Soon, Yu heard the snoring of the blue-haired boy. It seemed he's still tired. He placed a blanket on Minato and went to the bed.

* * *

The next day he woke up, Yu was nowhere to be found.

Minato looked at the clock, figured that the silver-haired boy must have been gone to school since it was noon.

He let out a big yawn, stretching his body a bit.

Down to the lounge, nobody was around. Nanako and Yu went to school, and Dojima went to work. He was the only one left.

He took a quick shower and changed into the shirt Yu left for him. It's a bit loose but better than the Gekkoukan High uniform. The Gekkoukan High uniform he wore yesterday could no longer wear. It's messed, and it would be best to hide it from Dojima which school he studied.

Hell, what exactly happened when he was pulled away from the seal?

He couldn't recall a single bit. it's frustrating.

By the way…what should he do now?

He took a cup of water to soothe his dry throat. How long did he drink water? It felt so unrealistic, yet it's so real.

He uttered a sigh of satisfaction. He felt alive. Oh great, his stomach was growling.

The porridge last night was tasteless due to his exhaustion. Still, he really appreciated the little girl. Perhaps, he should buy her something.

He wanted to go out and eat, but he didn't have money. Maybe he should check the fridge?

Well…just a glance. Dojima and Yu wouldn't blame him, right?

Suddenly, the door slid opened, Yu stepped in.

"Great timing, Minato. Do you want to come with us?"

Luckily, he didn't touch the fridge, Minato thought inwardly.

Yu told him, Yosuke and the others were gathered at Junes. Apparently, Junes was their secret headquarter. Kanji was recovered, and they have some discussion to go on later.

"…You already invited him to the group?" Minato followed Yu's pace, walking side by side with Yu.

"He agreed to join." Yu smiled. "Let's not talk about this. Minato, I suggest you buy some clothes. You'll need it."

"…I don't have money."

"I'll buy it for you." Yu offered sincerely. "Don't worry, I get this money from TV World."

Minato didn't like to owe anyone's favor. But he could only accept the fact, considering the needs of daily lives.

"…I'll pay you back."

Yu knew what in his mind, simply chuckled.

He didn't like to owe people's favor either. At the beginning, he resisted the idea of staying in Dojima's house. He hated to trouble others, probably a habit developed since childhood.

His parents used to travel a lot due to business. He was forced to move with them. he transferred to a lot of places. The longest he could stay in the same place was no more than two years. He thought, perhaps because of this, he was good at hiding his true feeling, pretending like he didn't care. He didn't care to transfer. He didn't care to lose friends. He didn't care – but in fact, he cared. He cared a lot.

He felt so heart wrenching whenever he had to leave his friends behind and moving alone. He has so resisted the new environment he was forced to adapt. But the one he hated the most, was him, himself.

He hated no matter how much he resisted, he would get along with the situation. He would get used to the new environment.

He could see they had something in common. Shaking off the gloomy thought, he brought Minato to the clothes department in Junes.

"Hey, you guys are late!" Yosuke waved his hand at the boys who were walking to them.

Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko, and Kanji were sitting on the bench, waiting for them.

Minato followed behind Yu, with few bags of new clothes. Yu was so generous that he even bought a handphone for him. Now it was Minato who felt embarrassed.

"Sorry, we went shopping for a while." First, Yu introduced Kanji to Minato. "This is Kanji Tatsumi. Kanji, this is Minato."

"Yo."

"…Hi."

Kanji reminded him about Shinjiro. But Shinjiro was more mature and scary.

"I heard that you're going to stay at Dojima's house. How did you convince Dojima-san?" Yosuke laughed, putting a plate of steak to the front of Minato. "My treat!"

Minato accepted it gratefully.

"Thanks…mind if you can order ten more for me?"

"W-What!?" Yosuke almost jaw-dropped. "T-Ten more!?"

The others were dumbfounded.

"Uh…I like steak too, but ten steaks…I think it's too much." Chie grimaced.

"Y-Yes…you will gain too much weight!" Yukiko looked more nervous than him.

The punk-like guy, Kanji Tatsumi widened his eyes. "Y-You sure you can finish them!?"

What were those reactions?

"I think I can eat more than ten, but I guess ten is enough for now." He answered each of their questions patiently. "I don't mind gaining weight – more correctly, I don't care about that." Lastly, he turned to Kanji. "And, I'm very sure I can finish them."

Seeing that, Yu laughed.

"I think the porridge was too little for you."

"Yeah, but I appreciate Nanako-chan's kindness. Porridge was the best for me under that condition." Minato took a bite of steak. "…It's been a long time since I chew any meat in my mouth."

Excepted Yu, the others were confused. They looked at Yu and Minato, all frowning.

"Hey partner…mind explain what happened last night?"

… …

Yu explained the dialog between Minato and Dojima, and the story Minato shared to him. Looking to their faces, Yu was sure they couldn't follow him, as Kanji already down, Chie and Yosuke were dumbfounded, while Yukiko was pondering. The litigant was eating the steak, completely ignored the others.

Yu rolled his eyes at Minato. He sighed and looked back to his friend.

"Uhh…Yu, honestly, I don't get it." Yosuke laughed bitterly.

"Yeah…me too. How about you, Yukiko?" Chie turned to the black-haired girl.

Yukiko lifted her head, clearly, she wasn't understanding at all.

"Sorry…it sounds too unbelievable to me. I mean…even now, the TV world and personas are unbelievable to me." Yukiko raised a bitter smile.

"It doesn't matter if you don't believe me." Taking a tissue, Minato gently wiped his mouth. "I'll just do my job here. Of course, I'll help you guys in this serial murder case."

It's a deal. He shot Yu another glance, which the silver-haired boy responded with a nod.

Yu explained that Kanji had joined the group and agreed to lend his strength to this case. Temporary ignoring the story of Minato since their leader has no problem with it, they started to discuss the case.

"So, uh…so someone's killing people with a TV…? What, is he beating them to death?"

"No, they weren't being beaten with a TV! Were you listening at all…?" Yosuke yelled at Kanji, rubbing his temple at the same time.

"Don't worry, he will understand once he sees the place with his own eyes." Chie nodded, but Minato doubted it. "But the way it happened was just the same as with Yukiko."

Everyone's stare turned to Yukiko when Chie mentioned it. The girl flustered but quickly recovered.

"The killer kidnapped him first, then threw him into the TV."

"Yeah…it's scary." Yukiko lowered her head.

The air was awkward and gloomy. Minato planned to observe first. He took a sip of the lemon ice tea, eying them but remained silent.

When he thought it's better to interrupt them, a chat caught his attention.

"That show's been pretty crazy lately, huh?" Two male students at the back seemed to chat about Midnight Channel, though Minato didn't watch it before.

"Yeah. I keep wondering who'll show up next."

"I knew before it came on that he'd be the next one to appear."

"What's the dude's name? that first-year who used to be in biker gang…"

Biker gang? Minato raised his brow at that. Sounded kind of crazy…Kanji didn't seem to be that type at all. If he must say, Shinjiro was more fit with the image of the biker gang.

He smiled internally but immediately felt sentiment brushed over him. He took a deep breath, not wanting to show it off.

"Who the hell d'you think was next?" Minato watched Kanji jumped up from the seat and faced the two male students. "His name is Kanji Tatsumi…and he wasn't in a biker gang – he's the one who beat the shit out of those leathered-up pansies. So…who are you dipshits!?"

He yelled at them. Minato had to say, that look on his face was scary, and it's enough to scare lots of people. As expected, the male students screamed and ran away.

"Hey…are you driving my guests away?" Yosuke sighed. "But to tell the truth, I can't stand it."

"Yeah…" Chie nodded. "They have no idea it's related to the murders, but still…how can they talk about their schoolmate like that?"

"…That's just normal." Minato said with low tone. "Everyone likes gossiping. I used to it in my previous school."

It made him thought about Fuuka when she's gone missing for ten days. They said she's dead, and she's the ghost haunted the girls who bullied her. Funny.

"E-Even schools in the big city are like that?"

"They're like onlookers at a car crash. As long as it's not happening to them, they're dying to see…damn, this suck. We don't even know who's gonna be targeted anymore."

"This case disproved our assumption that all the victims are female," Yukiko said.

"What was the other thing we thought they had in common?

"People involved in the initial case, about Ms. Yamano, are the targets…how about that?"

"…I think it's correct. We should follow this lead for now." Yu answered after a short ponder.

"Well, both Yukiko and Kanji-kun were involved in some way or another."

"But, that announcer was dealing with their mothers, not them." Yosuke voiced out his thought.

Kanji looked at them for a while.

"You guys sayin' you don't have any clues?" He raised a smile. "Well, listen up, 'cause I got somethin' big."

"What's that?"

Everyone turned their attention to the punk-like guy, watching him took out a piece of paper from the pocket.

Yu took it over.

"When I made my way comeback at school today, there was an annoying brat hanging around. Turns out he was snooping around about senpai's and my disappearance, so I took this from him."

Minato leaned forward. He found several lists on the paper, and Yu seemed to eye on one list with a frown.

"The list of TV program…?"

"Mayumi Yamano 4/11, Saki Konishi 4/13…" Yu read the list out loud.

"What are these dates? April 11th?" Yosuke frowned.

"…Sounds like the date of the TV program. You got clues?" Minato said, looking at Yu.

Somehow, the silver-haired boy widened his eyes, seemed to get some hints.

"Oh yeah, they found the first body on the day school started, so that would have been…the 12th." Chie pointed it out. "The 11th is the day before that…"

"I know I can't forget the day Saki-senpai's body was found. That was…the 15th." Yosuke said with a sad face. It seemed he knew Saki Konishi. "Are these dates related to the cases?"

"Yosuke, do you forget? April 13th…it was the day Saki-senpai's on TV." Yu revealed for him and the others.

Yosuke was hit. How could he forget that?

"I see…yeah, there's no doubt about it.

"I heard that Saki Konishi found the first body, right?" Yu nodded to Minato, who was asking him the question. "And no doubt the date April 11th is the day Mayumi Yamano was on TV."

"Oh, I remember now!" Chie clicked her fingers. "That was when the affair hit the news!"

"Yukiko, did you get interviewed too?" Minato looked at the black-haired girl.

"Yes, it was the day we met at the embankment," Yu confirmed with her.

"Yes, it was April 15th! And right after that, I was kidnapped."

"Kanji, what about the television special you were on?" Yosuke threw the question to the punk-like guy, but he didn't seem to catch up with them.

"Uhhh…I-I don't remember the exact date…but it wasn't too long I met you guys."

"…It's related."

"Yeah…everyone was on TV before they disappeared."

"It seems the killer's targeting people he sees on TV." This time, they were pretty sure about the assumption.

"I was so caught up with the news reports about the incidents that I didn't notice at all…" Yukiko covered her mouth with a hand, surprised by the fact.

"It can't be a coincidence."

"Maybe this "being on TV" thing is some stupid rule that the killer's following."

It seemed they found a new lead.

"That's right…the killer could've targeted the same victim again…"

"I think there's a definite connection here between the kidnappings and the TV broadcasts. The victims weren't just involved with the first case. They were also shown in the mass media."

Minato felt jarring about this assumption.

Were they really connected to the first victim? To him, it's more like random homicide. The difference was the victims were shown on the mass media. It didn't seem there's any connection to the first victim.

But Minato decided to keep this for himself. He didn't have any proof, and there were a lot of things he didn't fully understand yet.

"But…what's the motive? Why kill someone just because they were on TV? Argh…dammit! Now that I think about it, we haven't gotten anywhere!"

"We don't need to think about the killer's motive right now." Minato finished the drinks on hand. "You'll know when you catch the killer. Don't confuse it with the things we need to focus on."

"Yeah dude, why beat yourself up? I think you guys are awesome." Kanji agreed his words. "I mean, you guys noticed what was happening to me and even risked your lives to stop it. That's more than enough."

Minato smiled. Never thought this guy would say things like this. Well, he did have points.

"You rescued me, too. We may not have solved the mystery, but we've saved two people already." Yukiko tried to cheer up the group. "What's more, everyone's deduction that Kanji-kun might be next was right on the nose."

"I know! We were so close."

"Huh? You knew before it happened? Damn, I wish you guys'd come a little earlier, then…"

"Hey, do you forget who drove us away?"

They all laughed. After some school campout talks, they decided to take Minato and Kanji to the Mr. Bear – Teddie.

"Oh yeah, you're older than us, right?"

On the way to an electronic department, Yosuke asked. The others gazed at Minato at the same time.

"W-What? You're older than senpais?"

"Kanji, did you listen at all?"

"I'm no different than any of you. Just drop the formality." Although he was older, he died at seventeen, too. He didn't find any difference between him and them. "Call me Makoto if others are around, especially Dojima-san and Nanako-chan."

"Makoto and Minato…I feel like I'll mess up your names…" Chie sighed.

"By the way, Yosuke. Does Junes need part-timer?"

"Of course we need. We always short in manpower." Yosuke gave him a glance as a hint hit him. "Don't tell me…"

"Yeah, I want to work at Junes. Can you help me to get the job?"

"You don't plan to go to school?" Yu asked, looked somewhat surprised.

"…I don't feel the need to go to school." He shrugged. After all, he already went through all the lessons. "I don't think I can enroll to school without any proof of identity."

"Well…you're right, though…" Yu sighed, didn't press on the subject. "Anyway, it will be more convenient for us to assemble if you work at Junes. Yosuke, can you help him?"

"Alright, leave it to me."

* * *

Under the leading of the team, Minato and Kanji met Teddie. As a result, they received glasses, as the proof of joining the team.

"…So, this is the glasses you're wearing." Putting the black glasses on, Minato saw his vision became clear like the fog didn't exist at all. "It does help to lift my headache."

He loved this.

In the corner of his eyes, he could see a faint blue glowing door. It felt so familiar. When the team was toying Kanji, he walked to the blue door.

"Can you…see it?" Yu walked nearby, staring at him with shock.

"I see…you're the guest of Velvet Room." As expected, Minato thought.

Ever since he saw Yu summoned more than one personas, he figured that the silver-haired boy was Wild Card. No one could see this door, except those who bounded by contract.

"…What else do you know?" Letting out a sigh, Yu rubbed his hair.

Seeing that, Minato smiled. "I know your power. I know Velvet Room…I was former Wild Card and former guest."

"…Figured." Yu couldn't help but smiled. "Anyway, welcome aboard."

"Nothing. It's a deal, you remember?"

"Yeah, a deal, if you want to call that."

* * *

Here we are the Chapter 2.

Thank you for those reviewed in the previous chapter. I really appreciate the suggestion and opinion. Thanks!

By the way, I am working on the new cover of this story. Hopefully, it could be done before Chapter 3 is posted. Anyway, I'm not good at drawing. It's just one of my habits. Feel free to comment about it, of course, after I update the cover.

Well, see you in Chapter 3.


	3. Chapter 3

Minato leaned sideways to dodge the heavy chain. Then, he raised the one-handed sword and slashed the enemy's arm in horizontally. The shadow let out a sharp cry, pulling its arm away.

It's the perfect time to strike, Minato thought as he leaped away.

"Yu!"

"Alright!"

Yu smashed the Tarot Card on hand, summoned Izanagi and used Zio on Intolerant Office, which appeared to be the weakness of Bonus Boss in Steamy Bathhouse.

After the shadow was knocked down, they launched the All-out-Attack, giving it the last strike.

"Phew…" Chie turned around, letting out a tired sigh. "Finally, it's done…"

"It's hot…" Yukiko kept wiping off the sweat formed on her forehead and used the fan to keep herself from heat.

"So, this is the heat of a man, Kanji?" Minato wiped the sweat with his hand, stared at the punk-like boy with a deadpan look.

"D-D-Don't ask me! I-It's not like I-I want it!" Kanji couldn't hide from his embarrassment, turning to his back. He not even faced them from the time they stepped in here.

"I don't want to come here anymore…" Yosuke lay down on the floor, panting. "Can we get out of here?"

"Sure. Give me a minute." Yu got a piece of metal on hand that no one knew where he got it from. "Kanji, I think you can use this."

He handed it to Kanji.

"C-Can I have this!?"

"Sure, why not?"

Great. How did this guy maintain his coolness under this heat? Minato rolled his eyes. He missed the futon.

He stared down at the one-handed sword.

Again, he picked up the weapon to fight. This time, not knowing who the enemy was, he fought for himself. The coldness of the metal reminded him a lot of memories, such as their fights in Tartarus, the daily and normal school lives and the bonds with the others. He wondered after his death, how were the other members of SEES?

He had faith in them, even without him, they could continue living. He just…he just felt a bit lonely. He knew he wasn't supposed to think it that way, but part of him was lonely. Knowing he was being left behind, while the others kept moving to the future…he felt grieved.

Inhaling deeply, he smiled, yet his eyes were sad.

Yu saw everything.

Although the others didn't notice it, he saw it.

Sometimes, he would see Minato woke up in midnight, sitting on the sofa without moving. Through the light of the moon, he could see Minato's face filled with loneliness. It's the same face he was having now.

"Minato, are you alright?" Taking this in heart, Yu approached Minato, which Minato seemed startled.

"No…I'm fine." Minato smiled, trying to hide his sentiment from the silver-haired boy. "By the way, this sword is good. Easy to use."

Yu found Minato tried to change the subject, but he decided to let it be, for now. Everyone had something didn't want to share with the others. He could understand that. Even Yu, he didn't tell everyone about his past.

He decided to go with Minato's words.

"…Yeah, Master Daidara's art is brilliant. Thanks to him, it's easier for us to explore this world." Yu let out a sigh when they finally stepped out from Steamy Bathhouse. "Minato, you seem to be good in using that one-handed sword. Did you learn it before?"

"…I was a member of Kendo Club. The main reason I joined this club was to learn fighting skills."

"Dude, that sounds cool," Yosuke smirked, staring at his knives. "I'm not really good at wielding these things. But having them with me makes me feel safer."

Indeed, Yosuke was right. Besides persona, these weapons were the only fighting option they left. Choosing suitable weapons were an important part of defending your life.

Yu looked at his weapon - double-handed sword for a while.

"…Minato, can you teach me fighting skills?"

Widening his eyes, Minato stunned.

Did Yu just ask him to teach? Among SEES, he wasn't the top fighter. Akihiko and Aigis were better than him. Even in the tournament, he lost to Mamoru. Was he capable to teach others?

For a moment, he hesitated. He couldn't simply promise him.

"…I don't know how well my fighting skills can help you. Is it alright?"

"Sure. Why not?" Shrugging, Yu chuckled.

Yu had no idea what Minato was worried about.

"Me! Me! Me! Me too!" Suddenly, Chie jumped in and grabbed his hands. "Can you teach me? I want to learn, too!"

"Chie, you're cunning!" Yosuke pressed on her head. "If you're going to teach Yu, teach me too! I want to learn!"

"What's up dude?" Kanji followed behind. "Teach me too!"

What happened now? Why thing turned out this way?

Minato narrowed his eyes, shooting a death glare to the initiator, who was standing there with his damn cool looking face.

"Wow, you're popular, Minato!" Teddie walked closer, looked a bit unsatisfied. "Chie-chan, can you hold my hands?"

"No way!"

"Snnnnrrrkkkk!" Yukiko bent down. Her laughing switch turned on, and laughing non-stop now.

"Master Minato, please teach me!" Chie held his hands up and down. Her strength was strong and Minato doubted his hands would break. "Pleeeeeeaaaaaaase!"

"Chie, this is the sword skills we're talking about, not kung fu! How to suppose he teaches you!?" Yosuke yelled, still pressing one of his hand on the short-haired girl's head. "And you Kanji, you have no fighting skill at all. Just maintain your style!"

"Huh!?"

"…Stop. Stop. Stop! I say STOP!" Minato surrendered. With these people surrounded him, he would never hear the end of it. "…Alright. I'll try my best."

"YEAH!" They cheered up like a child. Seeing the tired face of Minato, Yu chuckled, but he only gained a death glare from the boy.

"…You must keep this from Dojima-san." He didn't want to be killed by that man.

"A deal." Neither Yu wanted to be found out by Dojima.

* * *

Thanks to Yosuke, Minato managed to get a part-time job at Junes. He would work at different departments whenever they're short of manpower. It helped him a lot in financial. Sometimes…it helped to distract his mind as well.

He had gone to a lot of places to look for any hint that would help him to recover his memories. Unfortunately, he couldn't find any. He didn't recognize this town. Was it merely a coincidence that he was here after being pulled away from the seal?

No matter what, he couldn't make out a good explanation. Slowly, he gave up on thinking about it.

Focused on the job. Focused on the job was what he needed the most.

Nevertheless, a sigh escaped out of his mouth.

Today, there weren't many customers. The first and second-year students went for the campout, and this effect the consumption rate. This campout was two days one night, meaning that Yu and the others would be back tonight.

The boredom made him sleepy. He hated the free time.

"Hello."

The sudden approach from a short boy successfully drove his drowsiness. He stood straight to greet the customer but pausing for a while when his gaze met the boy.

The boy was slightly shorter than him, having blue hair just like himself.

Was he seeing a shorter version of himself?

Minato blinked for a moment, quickly recovered when the shorter boy coughed.

"…Welcome to Junes Food Court. How may I help you?"

"Ehmmm…give me Takoyaki, please."

"Right away."

Minato expertly poured the flour mixture into the machine and started to make the Takoyaki. He's been trained to be a well-skilled worker in Junes Food Court since the first day here. The shorter boy leaned against the wall and stared at him.

"…Never see you before."

"Can you remember all the faces in this town?" Minato threw the question back to the boy.

"Perhaps no. I am new to this town, too. Anyway, my name is Naoto Shirogane. I see you're an acquaintance to Kanji-san."

"…We just know each other recently."

Naoto smiled. He watched Minato turned the Takoyaki and then put into a paper bag.

"This is your order. 120 yen, please."

"Here…" Out of the blue, Naoto suddenly took back the money, which caused Minato stared him with a frown. "Before that, may I ask you few questions?"

"…What is this?" Minato had a feeling that this kid wasn't coming to buy Takoyaki, but aiming for something else. He didn't seem to be the type to like this kind of snack.

"Do you know about the serial murder case that happened recently?" Naoto shoved his hands into pockets. He continued when Minato nodded. "…The victims were shown on the Midnight Channel before going missing. Do you think this is a coincidence?

"You mean Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi?" Minato raised his brow, asked purposely.

This boy was trying to probe on him.

Naoto took a glance at him, closed his eyes.

"…Not the only two of them. I mean…including Yukiko Amagi and Kanji Tatsumi."

His words immediately alerted Minato.

This was bad. This boy seemed to know more than what it should be.

Who was he?

As if looked through his question, Naoto simply smiled.

"I am a detective. I'm now helping the police to investigate the case."

Detective, again? Minato sighed inwardly. He really hated this. Recently, he felt antipathy with detective already. There was one at home, and he had to deal with another detective?

Please spare him.

"…I don't know anything about this case. You know, I'm living in detective's house and is on his monitor. There's nothing I can tell you."

"I see…so, you're the one Dojima-san talked about, the suspect of the case."

"Yeah, the SUSPECT." Minato rolled his eyes. "Can you pay it already?"

He pointed at the Takoyaki Naoto held on hand, showing a hint of impatient.

"I am sorry." Ignoring the impatient Minato, Naoto finally handed the money.

"…Welcome. Please come again." Minato's expression is exactly the opposite of what he said. Completely deadpanned.

It made Naoto chuckled for a while. Yet it didn't draw him away.

"…I made some speculation on the case. Do you want to hear me out?"

"…Not interested."

Immediately Minato rejected his offer and gave him an annoying face. However, the shorter boy simply shifted his gaze, turning to his back, pretending he didn't see it.

"…First, when I took over the case, I thought Saki Konishi's death was linked to the first victim, Mayumi Yamano. For everyone, they would think the same way since she was the first to find out the dead body. The next victim, Yukiko Amagi, she has some links to Mayumi Yamano as well, as Mayumi Yamano stayed in Amagi Inn before her death. I was very confident that the culprit was targeting people who have some sort of connection to the first victim, until the fourth victim, Kanji Tatsumi was involved."

"… …" Minato sighed, ending up listening to his speculation. He seemed quite a tough one to handle.

"…I found unusual, so I started to investigate the connection of Tatsumi Textile Shop and Mayumi Yamano. Indeed, there's connection, but it wasn't strong enough to appear as the culprit's motive. Although I went to Kanji-san and asked him questions, he seemed confused. Then, I remembered he appeared on the television special, including Mayumi Yamano, Saki Konishi, and Yukiko Amagi. That's the time I realized that I made a serious mistake. But then, Kanji-san went missing."

Crap, his speculation was the same as the team.

"Do you think this is a pure coincidence?"

Meeting Naoto's dark grey eyes, Minato saw determination within them. He died for an answer.

Yet, Naoto found the wrong person. Minato wouldn't answer. He doubted the shorter boy would believe in him.

"…I've told you, I know nothing. I don't know what you're talking about."

The air turned tense as Minato said that. Naoto's eyes fixed on Minato, sharply. Later, he let out a sigh.

"…Such a thick-headed." Naoto adjusted his hat, turning to his back. "…You know, even you don't answer my questions, but you never deny what I said…from the beginning."

And that made Minato startled for a while. He tried to maintain his calm, watching the shorter boy walked away.

Phew…that got him.

"Brothers quarreled?"

Minato looked to the other side, seeing a person with pale white face walked closer to him. Narrowing his eyes, Minato felt something off with the person.

She had black short hair with a pair of blood red eyes. Her skin was sickly white. The smile hanged on her face made Minato uncomfortable.

"…I don't have a sibling. He's just a customer."

"Quite an interesting customer." She chuckled, standing front of him. "Can I have the Takoyaki?"

"…Right away."

Damn it. Could she just walk away? First the detective, now a pale face woman…why were they coming to him?

"You look like a high school student. I've seen you working at Junes a lot. No need to worry your grade?" She playfully asked.

"…It's none of your business."

"Oh yes, do you consider work at the gas station? We're short in people. How about it? Give it a thought."

Minato could see, even she was trying to be nice, her eyes betrayed her.

Her eyes weren't human-like. They filled with despise and cold. They…looked dead.

Shivering by the thought, Minato quickly stopped thinking about it and speeded up the work on hands.

"…120 yen, please."

This time, unlike Naoto, she paid the money right away. However, she didn't seem to want to leave at all.

"You're new to this town, right? What do you think of this place?" She asked.

Minato frowned. He had a feeling that he shouldn't deal with her too much. Damn, he hoped she would just leave.

"…Don't know. I'm still very new to this place."

He wasn't lying at all. Indeed, he was new and not familiar with the town.

"Yes, I know. If I must say, this is a nice town. However…" Her smile faded, and her mouth crooked into a cold grin. "…The boredom kills the interest of the people to this town very soon, especially the young. What do you think it'll come up later?"

Strange, but a word formed in Minato's head. If people gathered around, mostly they did –

Gossiping.

"Do you know the Midnight Channel? It's famous lately. People are talking about it, especially among student."

That's a form of gossiping, too. As long as they didn't involve, people wanted to know. Whether they want to know the truth or they were simply curious, it wouldn't change the fact that they're gossiping others.

Did this relate to the serial murder case? Well, no doubt people were talking about the serial murder case, but that's all, wasn't it?

Why did he feel jarring?

Something was missing, he was sure about it.

"Well, I should be going now. See you again." She waved her hand, leaving the food court.

Minato let out a sigh. He suddenly realized that he was holding his breath since meeting this woman.

* * *

"I'm back…"

When Minato reached Dojima Residence, he found another pair of unfamiliar shoe place neatly at the entrance. Dojima was back, but Yu hadn't. That shoe didn't belong to anyone in the house.

"Welcome back, Makoto-san." Nanako greeted him.

Going deeper to the lounge, Dojima and a slacker-like guy were sitting on the sofa, watching TV. He greeted Dojima and the stranger, before setting himself down.

"Yo, you're the new kid Dojima-san talked about?" The guy greeted him with a casual smile. "I'm Tohru Adachi. Nice to meet ya."

"…Makoto Yuki." Minato nodded, but frown secretly.

Why was he feeling the pale woman in this guy? Strangely, the two of them seemed to share…the the same odor?

He carefully took a quick glance at Adachi, taking note that he had to be very careful of this guy.

"Dojima-san, this kid doesn't seem like a suspect. Are you sure he is connected to the serial murder case?" Adachi bit the cake on hand which was bought by Dojima, leisurely said. Minato turned his head to Adachi when he was obviously talking about him.

"…Does his look tell you he is not involved?" Dojima glared at Adachi, sighing when the cake he bought for Nanako was finished.

"No, not really."

"Then, shut your mouth up."

Nanako was happily eating the cakes and gave some of her share to Minato.

"Eat. This tastes really good."

"Thanks." He saw Nanako's cheek was stained with some cream. Chuckling, Minato helped to wipe it off. "The cream."

"Thank you, Makoto-san."

Watching Nanako's smiling cute face, a dead glare pierced through him.

Minato sweatdropped. He could sense the killing aura from Dojima. All he could do was pulling back his hand, and digging the cake.

The cream melted in his mouth. This was sure the best cake he had ever tasted.

Great job, Dojima-san.

"Oh yeah, Dojima-san, you know the news we received from Takura Production?"

"Takura Production? What's that?" Not even taking a glance at Adachi, Dojima asked.

"Rise Kujikawa from Takura Production, you know? The famous idol nowadays!" Adachi seemed excited, opened his arms widely. "They contacted us to assist Rise Kujikawa!"

"Huh? What the hell you're talking about? And who is this Rise Kujikawa?"

"Rise Kujikawa…do you mean Risette?" Tilting her head, Nanako asked.

Risette? An idol?

It's only been two years, but the changes were so much he couldn't recognize.

He didn't remember an idol called Risette debuted. Perhaps she was debuted after his death. It couldn't be helped, he guessed?

Anyway, it's better to hide the fact of not knowing about Risette, and listened to their conversation.

"Yes, brilliant Nanako-chan!" Adachi clicked his fingers, cheering out. "It's Risette, Dojima-san!"

"I don't care who is this Risette…get to the point, you dammit!"

"Y-Yes!"

Oh my, they're noisy! Dojima-san's voice was loud, and that Adachi was extremely annoying!

"Eh…from what I heard, Rise Kujikawa wanted a period of rest, perhaps due to stress or anything? I'm not sure, but Takuro Production mentioned she would temporary absence from the entertainment industry. I think few more days later, they will officially make an announcement. Dojima-san, can you imagine if the idol suddenly appears in Inaba?"

As if understanding the meaning behind the words, Dojima rolled his eyes and sighed.

"…Alright, alright, I get it now."

It would be damn crowded for sure. Even Minato could imagine it.

"Dad…are you saying Risette is quitting her job?"

"Who knows…"

Clearly not interested in the topic, after finishing all the cake, Dojima kicked Adachi out of the house. By the time Adachi stepped out of the house, Minato felt the heaviness lifted his heart.

What's wrong with him? Why did he feel so uneasy around Adachi? Or…the one having problem was him, not the pale woman or Adachi? Was he just making things complicated?

Urgh…this was confusing. Just…stop thinking about it.

Come to think of it, Yu hadn't back. What took him so long today? Nanako seemed worried too, as Minato found she kept staring at the entrance. But since it's late, and it's the time she needed to hit her bed, Minato offered his help to wait for Yu.

Fortunately, it didn't take long before Yu slid the door and stepped into the entrance. Although Yu was back, …how should he put it? Did Yu look…tired and helpless?

"…Are you okay?"

Yu stared at Minato for a while, raising a bitterly smile. His face was green and white, like someone just consumed poison.

"…No, I'm fine…" He said weakly. "…I'm hitting the bed. Good night…"

"You're not gonna bath first?"

"No…I have done many baths today…"

Leaving Minato, Yu headed straight to his room. Minato heard something hit the futon, and then soundless. Looked like Yu was very tired.

An exhausted campout, he guessed?

"…What happened to him?"

* * *

Yu, Yosuke, and Kanji stubbornly kept silent about what happened in the campout. Although Minato couldn't dig it out from them, by just looking at the poor guys' face, he was sure it wasn't something nice to talk about. Seeing that, Minato gave up on that.

Being a guy, he had to understand that something that guys didn't want to talk about.

Pride. Yeah, that's it.

Minato stretched my body and utter a relaxed sigh. After finished his shift, he was on the way back to Dojima Residence. It's quite early today, but he had no intention to explore other places. When passing by the embankment, he decided to take a quick nap before heading home.

"Phew…"

Feeling the wind brushing against the face, Minato closed his eyes to enjoy this comfortable moment. However, he was startled when a squeak sounded behind him.

Who was that?

He turned over in instant and found a long copper hair girl with berets and sunglasses. From the expression on her face, she seemed nervous and uneasy...although Minato had no idea why she felt that way.

"Hmm…errrr…"

"…Sorry. I don't mean to scare you."

"Eh?"

What now?

The girl looked confused suddenly. She took off the sunglasses, staring at Minato with wide eyes.

"…You…you don't have a question for me?"

"No." What's that? Minato was sure he didn't know her at all.

"You…don't know me?"

What was she talking about? Was it a must to know her?

He frowned, showing a bit annoying.

"…I don't think I see you somewhere before."

The girl blinked, later let out a chuckle – as if she was crying as if she was smiling.

"What is this…? Hahaha…" Sitting next to Minato, the girl wiped the tears off her face. "…Thank you."

For what? Minato blinked for a while, mentally uttered.

Did he do something should be appreciated?

"…The wind feels great."

"Yeah."

The girl seemed happy, although he had no idea for what she was happy about. From her relaxing posture, Minato knew she had lowered her guard towards him.

A brief of silence tranquility wrapped the two of them as the sun began to set. The girl let out a sigh, leisurely turning her head to Minato.

"…Hey, do you really understand yourself?"

Minato didn't answer immediately. For a moment, Minato lost at her words, but the girl waited for him patiently, having no intention to urge him.

She was giving him time to think about it. He knew, and he had to answer her as she seemed insisted.

"…No one really understands themselves. As the people always say, the one you understand the most, and the one you don't understand the most, are you, yourself."

She stared at him, frowning. Well, she didn't seem convinced.

"…You don't understand yourself, either?"

"Not at all. Human is the most complicated creatures in the world...Being contradiction, that's just the way we are."

Hmm…did he really answers her question? She looked confused and troubled, as she deeply frowned, making her cute face twisted.

"…You sound so metaphysic." Chuckling, she looked up to the amber sky. "...You're staying in this town, right? Then, I'm sure we will meet again."

With a wave, she put on the sunglasses and left the embankment.

Standing up, he followed behind the girl but heading in the opposite direction.

Back to Dojima Residence, Yu, Nanako, and Dojima were sitting at the table, having dinner. Seeing Minato, Yu immediately shifted a place for him.

"You're late."

"…Sorry, spacing out at the embankment." Minato said while putting a piece of meat into his mouth. "I met someone there…"

At the same time, the TV was showing the news about Rise Kujikawa's temporary absence. Staring at Rise's face, Minato instantly chocked.

"You okay, Makoto-san?" Nanako handed a cup of plain water to him. She's such a good girl.

"…I'm fine."

Yu laughed since the moment he was choked by the food. Minato sends him a glare, but it didn't stop the silver-haired boy from laughing.

"What makes you like that?"

Minato pointed to the TV.

"…This is Rise Kujikawa, right?" Yu and Nanako nodded at the same time. "I met her, at the embankment."

He could see Yu and Nanako were stunned. Well…did he just put himself under bad position?

"Y-You met Risette, Makoto-san!?" Nanako's scream caught the three men off guard. "Wow…this is great!"

"You didn't know she is Risette?"

Minato stared at the girl on the screen and tried to compare the girl he saw a moment ago. They weren't much different. But to Minato, they're a lot different.

"…She has her hair in different style. Plus, with the berets, I really couldn't tell they're the same person."

"…We just assisted her to get to her home a moment ago. Though…I don't know why she went out alone. Kids today…" Dojima muttered under his breath, sounded annoying.

So, the girl was Rise Kujikawa, the idol Risette…but she seemed to have some problems. Was that the reason she stepped out from the entertainment industry?

And…one more thing confirmed.

Minato exchanged a glance with Yu.

Rise Kujikawa fit the pattern as the next victim.

And the result was exactly as they thought. They saw a figure on Midnight Channel.

* * *

Alright, chapter 3 is up.

Thank you for all the reviewers and follows and favorites.

For the questions in the reviews…well, I did mention this is a P3P x P4G story, of course, Hamuko is involved in the story. But she isn't the main character here, and I'll probably won't do Minato x Hamuko. However, they are attached to each other, I confirmed.

For Shinjiro…sorry, but I'll have to keep a secret for the moment. If I reveal too much, it will end up spoil the story. Sorry about that.

Btw…I have updated the new image cover. I'm not good at drawing male, so hope you like it. ^^

I'll try to update next chapter as soon as I can. Thank you for your support!


	4. Chapter 4

"It's raining."

Closing the curtain, Yu said, pointing the window.

"…So, Midnight Channel will on during the rainy night, huh?" Minato stood up from the sofa, walking to the front of the TV and stood side by side with Yu.

"Yes…let's see who is going to appear on it, and that's the target of the culprit."

"It's almost time."

Minato checked the clock, smiling at the déjà vu he had right now.

It's like a habit to check the time at midnight. Unlike two years ago, even time struck at twelve, the sky wouldn't turn to green. This time, no eerie gigantic moon or bloody water, but some strange phenomena, just like the TV he's watching now.

A female figure showed on the TV screen clearly. She's seemed wearing a swimsuit, hair tied into pigtails. It kept zooming in on her chest and thighs, showing the sexy line of her body. However, her face was hazy. They couldn't tell if she was Rise Kujikawa.

When the Midnight Channel went down, Yu received a call. It seemed from Yosuke.

While they're talking, Minato looked at the TV. Wondering, he lifted his hand and touched the screen lightly. A pool of swirl appeared on the screen, just as expected.

So, besides the TV in Junes, they could get into the TV World with any of the TVs. He pulled back his hand as Yu ended the call. Just when he turned around -

The corner of his eyes caught an image of a pair of blood red eye.

And then, a pale white hand stretched out from the screen and grabbed Minato's hand, pulling him to the TV. Out of shock, Minato managed to grasp the side of TV from falling inside.

"Minato!?"

Watching the blue-haired boy in danger, Yu quickly lent his hand. Both struggled to pull back the boy's hand, while the other side was trying the best to pull the boy in. Suddenly, Minato felt the grasp on his hand loosed, he and Yu lost balance and fell to the back.

They knocked on the table behind and let out a loud bang. Both hugged their heads in grieve pain, almost tearing.

"Hey, what the hell you're doing there!? You know what time it is now!?" Dojima shouted in his room. Enduring the pain, Yu quickly apologized.

"Argh…my head…is breaking apart…" Minato's face twisted.

"…This reminds me the first time I watched Midnight Channel…" Yu groaned, letting out a soft chuckle at the end. "By the way…what happened?"

"No idea…a hand grabbed me and tried to pull me into the TV…" Minato shivered when he recalled the blood red eyes. Who was it?

"A hand?" Yu raised his brow. "…I've been pulled into the TV before, but I managed to free before falling inside…"

But that's a pure accident. He was the one putting the hand inside the TV, not someone purposely did so.

Why was it sounded like ghost story? Urgh…perhaps he could let it for the moment. Minato blew his bang, climbing up to the sofa, aka his bed. "…So, what's Yosuke saying?"

"…He says the person on the Midnight Channel is Rise Kujikawa. Personally, I'm having the same opinion as him." Yu lay down on his bed. His head was still aching. "What do you think?"

"…Same here." Aside from Rise Kujikawa, he couldn't think of other people. For some reason, he was pretty sure that it was her, no doubt. He believed Yu thought the same way.

This was the first time he watched Midnight Channel. What a surprise he got. Anyway, he had a feeling that he should go after this case to get back his memories. Perhaps his memories were linked to it in some ways. Besides, he had no other leads.

* * *

"See you, Minato."

"See you tomorrow, Mr. Supervisor."

After saying goodbye to the supervisor, Minato decided to take a walk. He leisurely walked on the street, suddenly recalled that Yu sent him a message regarding the visit to Rise. He wondered if he should join them.

He looked to his wrist, a red mark was clearly seen on it. This was left by the sudden encounter last night. It was still aching now.

Damn…who tried to pull him into that world? It wasn't the usual style of the culprit…no, that wasn't the culprit. If he was the culprit, he wouldn't do such a stupid thing to reveal himself. Furthermore, the method was different. Yukiko and Kanji said they were kidnapped when answering the doorbell, not being pulled into the TV world.

So…who was it?

A shadow? No, that was clearly a human's hand. But how could a human stay in that world without being killed by shadow?

Argh…dammit.

Somehow, he had a feeling that that hand belonged to the one who pulled him away from the seal. Yet, he couldn't recall a bit of it. Sighing, he shoved his hands into the pockets and paused his pace.

 _Minato…_

Instantly, he turned around. However, no one was behind him.

He carefully listened to the voice, and it seemed it just sounded in his head.

 _Minato…_

It wasn't daydreaming. It's truly calling him in his head, and the voice was…familiar.

"…Don't tell me…"

This was bad. He didn't know where the voice coming from. The voice was vague and unclear, like sounding from place afar.

Listening to the voice, he decided to look for it.

… …

And he ended up in Shopping District, near Daidara Metalworks, in front of a dim blue door.

What the hell? Velvet Room?

Was that voice coming from Velvet Room? If so, how supposed he went inside, a room that only those bounded by contract could enter?

As Minato scratched his head in vexed, Yosuke's voice sounded not far from him.

"Hey, Mina - Makoto!"

"…What are you guys doing here?"

Yu, Yosuke, and Kanji were gathered in front of a shop beside Daidara Metalworks, the girls were nowhere to be found.

"Hmm? You're not here to join us?"

"You mean…this is where Rise Kujikawa lives?"

"Yeah, look!" Yosuke held up the thing in his hand excitedly, as if showing off. "This is ganmodoki I bought from Rise's shop! She even picked it for me!"

"Yeah…yeah…"

What was he excited for?

Minato rolled his eyes at that, and then he saw Yu was holding something on his hand as well.

"…You bought some tofu, too?"

"Nope. She gave it to us and we can eat it tonight."

"Yeah, the dude's worrying her too much and she gave extra tofu for us as a sign of appreciation." Kanji explained further. His hand was holding a block of tofu as well.

"…I see."

Minato didn't see Rise inside. According to Yu, she didn't seem too well. Her face was gloomy, totally unlike the little devil showed up on TV. Minato recalled the girl was having the same face in their first meet. Through the conversation last time, he might have a clue.

Anyway, the guys happened to meet Dojima when they visited Rise. Oh great. That was such a great coincidence. Minato had a feeling that something would happen when they got home.

And, the fact he feared the most came up sooner than he thought.

"We sure have a lot of tofu." Nanako stared at the dishes on the table, eyes widened.

"Yeah…a lot of tofu." Minato chimed, averted his eyes from Dojima and Yu.

"It tastes great."

"Yeah, tastes great…"

The air was awkwardly tense and heavy as Dojima kept glaring at the silver-haired boy with doubtful stares.

He wanted to help, but he's hopeless. He was enough with the suspicion he had put himself into. He couldn't risk gaining more suspicious.

"…You visited Rise Kujikawa today. What did you talk about?" Dojima asked, clearly directed the question to Yu.

Yu was keen to aware of Dojima's suspicion to him and carefully chose his words.

"Nothing. We talked about her temporary absence things…and buying some tofu."

However, the serious man didn't seem convinced, or, he looked more anxious as if something was bothering him.

"…Forget it. I shouldn't have brought it up." He sighed, giving up on pressing on the subject. Yet, his face and eyes showed doubt.

Minato exchanged a glance with Yu, both took note on Dojima's behavior today.

They had to be very careful. Detective's intuition was scary and precisely. To Minato, warning the idol was unnecessary, although he knew full well that the boys did it for good intention. He wouldn't blame them for it, but it would be too risky if Dojima doubted them in the end.

"You guys met Rise-chan, too!?"

"Y-Yeah…"

"Hmm-mmm…"

Damn these young and older guys…they could have just gone with the line and lightened up the mood. Minato rolled his eyes, feeling his stomach was stirring because of the tensed air.

Looking back and forth, even Nanako knew something was wrong with two.

"Are you…fighting again?"

"No, of course not…" Meeting the deadpan look of Minato, Dojima shifted his eyes away. "Here…hurry and finish your dinner."

Not only Minato, Dojima dug in his meal without meeting Nanako's eyes. He could see Nanako was feeling down since these men were her only family members. She felt grieved seeing her beloved father and big brother fought each other.

Minato had no sibling, but somehow, he felt the same way as her. He patted the little girl's head gently, assured her firmly, and earned a soft smile from her.

The tense atmosphere continued into the night until the boys got back to the room.

"…He really got me."

Sliding the curtain and checking the weather, Yu let out a sigh.

"We have to be careful from now on. You are being suspected." Minato pointed his finger to the silver-haired boy.

"We're on the same board."

They laughed and getting back to the front of the TV.

"It's raining again."

"You think today Rise will show up again?"

"Probably…"

The same as previously, the same female appeared on the TV, wearing a swimsuit. Unlike the one before, this time, they could fairly see her face, and no doubt she is Rise Kujikawa. She's happily waving her hands to the front as if greeting her fans.

"…No doubt about it."

"I'll call Yosuke."

While waiting for Yu, this time, Minato not dare to touch the screen. He stared at the screen silently, wondering anything would show up. He unconsciously held his breath and concentrated on the screen, but nothing was up until Yu hung up the phone.

"What is it, Minato?" Yu walked closer to him, looking at the TV screen.

"No, nothing…" Minato exhaled. He was glad nothing happened.

"We will gather in Junes food court to discuss the matter after school."

"…Alright. I'll join you guys when I get break time."

* * *

When Minato went to the food court, Yu and the others weren't around.

Today was extremely busy until he completely missed the break time. When he finished the works on hand, it's about time to go back. Mr. Supervisor was kind enough to let him go back earlier since he missed the break time, and when he thought he should join the discussion, the others were nowhere to be found.

"…Oh yeah, message…" Perhaps Yu left any message to him before leaving food court.

" _We're heading to tofu shop."_

So, they're going to visit Rise again?

It wasn't surprising that the team wanted to protect the girl before anything happened to her. He was the same. Yet, he had a feeling that, this case wasn't as easy as anyone could have thought of, especially after he was tackled by the pale hand.

He even thought that this matter was probably done by the non-human. That bloody eyes and pale hand didn't belong to a human. Since the existence of TV World was unexplainable, there's high possibility done by something beyond their imagination.

Like Nyx. Like Ryoji.

Who could have ever thought about that in the first hand? The encounter two days ago made him believe on his speculation more.

While pondering, he paced up to join the team. In fact, he was worrying too.

When he almost reached there, a man with a backpack and camera was running to his way, and Kanji was chasing after him.

What's happening?

"S-Stop the guy!"

Kanji shouted, pointing to the backpack guy. Having no idea, Minato simply stretched out his leg to stumble the man. Turning around, he grabbed the man's arm and pushed him to the ground.

"Urgh! H-Hey! What are you doing…let me go!"

"Sorry, I can't…oh hey, what's going on here?" Minato asked the team. When he saw Adachi was together with the team, he secretly twisted his brows.

Why was he here?

"You da man!"

"Ack! My hand's hurt…just let me go!" The man cried out.

"Oh no…if he's injured, the police will be held responsible...!" Adachi gasped and quickly took over the man.

"H-How dare you to assault an ordinary citizen like me-"

"Shut the hell up, you murderer! We're taking you punk ass in!" Kanji's shouting blocked the man from talking more.

Hearing that, Minato raised his brows while the man's face paled up.

"Wha-!? Timeout! What do you mean 'murderer'!?"

"It's no use playing dumb!" Chie balled her fist.

"W-Wait a second!" The man hugged his head, sweating. "I-I just really like Risette, so I want to take a peek in her room…look, see! All I've got on me is a bunch of cameras!"

"Yep, you're the culprit, all right. No two ways about it." Adachi put on a handcuff. "Alright, I'll take it from here."

What was this farce all about?

"…Mind you all explain to me?" Since he was the one caught the so-called culprit, he had the right to question, right?

After Adachi took the man back to the police station, Yu explained everything happened while Minato wasn't around. They found the backpack man suspiciously wondered in front of Marukyu Tofu, so they decided to chase after him.

"…And you really think that man is the culprit?" Minato asked with doubt. Let alone the others, he didn't believe Yu thought the same way.

"Why not? We already know that the culprit is a pervert…wait, does this mean the case is closed?" Chie widened her eyes, completely believed the man was the culprit. "Awesome!"

Minato rolled his eyes. Yosuke even wanted to tell Rise about this good news.

Yu grabbed Minato on the shoulder, shaking his head. From Yu's face, Minato knew that the silver-haired boy was having the different opinion than the others.

If so, what was the farce for?

"Huh? Rise is not inside?"

"She does that sometimes. She'll just wander out without a word…" Rise's grandmother said with a sigh. "You must forgive her. She's quite worn out, in many ways…"

Seeing the expression on the old lady's face, all of them changed from relief to worry.

"She left…without saying a word? Could that be…" Yukiko looked at Yu, hoping their leader would refute her.

"...Guys, I'll say once again. Do you really think that man is the culprit?" Minato lowered his tone to show his seriousness.

The others gazed down, seemed uncertain.

"...I do hope that man is the culprit so this will finally come to an end...but..." Chie looked depressed. "Honestly, I don't think he is..."

"...Me too." Yukiko looked to the brown-haired girl and clutched her arm. "…I don't think that man is able to kidnap Kanji-kun."

Kanji stared at Yukiko when his name was mentioned. Indeed, from the strength and look, that backpack man could never match with Kanji, let alone kidnapped the punk-like guy.

"...Looks like we better look for Rise. She couldn't have gone far." Yosuke rubbed his hair, sighing.

Everyone spread out to look for the girl. Meanwhile, Minato went after Yu.

"...Hey, the commotion just now...it could be avoided." Minato murdered softly, but it was clearly heard by the silver-haired boy.

"Sorry...when it hit me, we all chased after the guy." Yu sighed. He knew he had to be very careful since his uncle was feeling suspicious, but sometimes it couldn't be helped.

"...Surely today's commotion will hit Dojima-san." Minato caught a glimpse of Yu's expression, which was an apologized face with a soft smile.

Somehow, Minato was curious how the boy felt about the case. Come to think of it, he never asked Yu about this, and Yu never revealed to the others.

"Yu, mind if I ask you a question?"

"What is it?"

"...How do you feel about the case?"

Yu slowed down his pace but kept up with the blue-haired boy. He raised his brow, wondering what's in the boy's mind.

"We have to catch the culprit, of course."

"That's not what I mean." Minato rubbed his nose bridge. "...Yu, are you enjoying it?"

Immediately, Yu stopped his pace. Minato turned around and found the shock expression on his face, slowly furious glares shot to his way.

"...What do you mean by that?" Yu asked with trembling voice.

Did Yu really want him to spell out?

Minato had no idea why Yu had to involve in this case. Indeed he was the first one to discover the power of persona, but it didn't mean he had to. In truth, he had no connection to the case. He was accidentally involved in the case and could simply ignore it and live normally. There's no need for him to bear the responsibility to save people showed on Midnight Channel.

He might not aware of it, but part of him must be enjoying it now.

"Don't put your words in my mouth!" Yu pushed Minato from his way, running forward to the front.

Seeing the boy ran off, Minato scratched his head, wondering if he was too straightforward. "...I haven't finished it yet..."

* * *

At the end, they couldn't find Rise. All of them went back with desperation. They prepared to face the worst, which meant Rise was kidnapped. Tonight, their speculation was confirmed by the show they were watching now.

The Midnight Channel clearly showed Rise who was wearing a swimsuit. Her postures were lovely and sexy, unlike the one he met at the embankment.

"I'm gonna show E-VERY-THING to you~" As Rise ran into the stage, the show ended.

"...What's this? This is completely different than the one before." Minato asked, looking to the silver-haired boy. After the minor argument, he refused to talk or even looked at him. Minato didn't blame him.

Fortunately, Yu was a reasonable person. Although there was an argument in between them, he was still very sensitive to distinguish the severity.

"...This would only show when the victim's been thrown into the TV. We've now confirmed Rise is inside that world."

As expected, Minato sighed.

As usual, Yu received a call from Yosuke. Now Minato had time to think about the show a moment ago.

According to the team, the one did the show, was probably the shadow of the victim. It was to say, Rise's shadow did the show herself, and they must save her before the fog lifted.

That Rise...Minato had a very bad feeling. He could see her golden eyes shined with evil as if she saw through him - everything of him. She wasn't any type of enemy he had faced before...this would definitely a tough battle.

To be honest, Minato didn't think he could win against Rise's shadow. He wondered how were the other shadows Yu faced before. Were they like that too?

"We'll meet at Junes food court tomorrow after school. You free?" Yu hung up the phone and asked.

"Available."

Yu nodded but said nothing. He was clearly avoiding him. Well…Minato knew he crossed the line, and this was his fault. Everyone had something they wanted to hide. The same went to him, and the same went to Yu. In fact, he shouldn't be bothered to understand the silver-haired boy more than it should be.

Even if Minato wanted to, now wasn't the best time to discuss it. The boy needed to ready for tomorrow's school, so Minato decided to let the boy went to bed.

"…Night."

* * *

For some reason, Teddie was so depressed because of the loneliness. The girls felt sorry for the bear and patted him gently on his head, making the bear happy again. Unlike the girls, the guys simply deadpanned knowing what's inside the bear's mind.

"…Anyways, we wanted to ask you something. How's it been over here?" Yosuke stroked his hair, sighed. "Did a girl called Rise Kujikawa show up? Can you sense anything?"

"Rise Kujikawa? Hmm…" The bear tilted his head, didn't seem to have any idea.

"You can't tell…? Your nose is kinda losing its edge lately, huh?"

"Looks like we have to look for some hints, like last time," Chie suggested.

"Hints…?" Hearing that, Minato looked at Yu. "What hints?"

"Something that would help Teddie to understand more about the victim. We did the same when looking for Kanji."

"…Come to think about it, the first time I met Rise at the embankment, she asked me whether I understand myself…" He wasn't mistaken. He could tell if there's anything bothering the girl, it must have related to this question. "Being an idol is tough. I think she must have been lost."

"Lost…?"

"What do you mean?"

"…She lost herself. She doesn't understand herself anymore, or more correctly, she has no idea who she is."

The others didn't seem to fully understand it while Yukiko and Yu were pondered deeply into the information.

"Guys, when talking about the idol, what first comes to your mind?" Yu asked processing possibilities in his mind.

"Hmm…a beautiful girl?" Kanji's answer immediately earned few glares. What was that answer?

"…Ehmm, to me, being an idol is to entertain public." Yukiko lifted her head, fingers rubbing her chin. "It can also be said that in front of people she must play the role to be given while hiding herself…"

"Ah, I get it now!" Chie clicked her finger. "She is confused about her 'idol self' and 'real self', right?"

Wow…hit the point. Minato would have to say, he never knew the short-haired girl would get to the point straight. She didn't seem to be that type, though. She impressed him, indeed.

Yu chuckled lightly, having the same opinion. If everyone came out the same conclusion, it shouldn't be wrong.

"Teddie, can you try to find Rise?"

"You better find her, you know?" Yosuke said, leaving some space for the bear so he could concentrate.

"Hmmmmmmm…Whaah!? There's something out there! Is this it? Did I find her!?"

"Lead the way, Teddie."

"Okay, follow me!"

* * *

"Chie!"

"Whoa!" Chie shut her eyes in an instant when a fire spell cast toward her. She crossed her arms in front of her body to defend, however, the pain didn't attack her as expected. Wondering, she opened her eyes and – "Minato!"

The blue-haired boy took the blow by shielding her. Minato only received minor damage, and he promptly wielded the sword to the soul dancer, slashing the shadow to half.

With no delay, Minato ran to another shadow nearby. Persistent Fuzz aimed its gun to the boy and shot, but Minato quickly dodged it and returned a horizontal slash to it.

"Wait, Minato, you're rushing too far ahead!" Yu shouted when he killed the shadow in front. "Tch!"

Minato heard him, but he couldn't care about that now. The shadow was repelling the fire spell and sent him away. Cursing under his breath, Minato charged out again.

Yosuke and Kanji cast Garu and Zio at the same time, but the shadow repelling all the magics back to them. Seeing that, Chie cast Gale Slash as a repay to Minato.

"Are you okay?" Not wasting a minute, Yukiko used Dia on Minato.

"I'm fine."

"Element attacks don't work. Use physical attack!" Yu commanded. He too followed behind Minato and attacked Persistent Fuzz.

It took them a while to finish Persistent Fuzz off. Right after that, Yu dismissed the exploration for today.

"Yu, why going back early -"

Outside of Rise's dungeon, Yu furiously grabbed Minato's collar and pulled him closer. He glared at the blue-haired boy, trying his best not to punch him in the face.

"Yu-kun!"

"S-Senpai!"

Yukiko and Chie gasped at their leader's reaction while Kanji and Yosuke stopped the boys from fighting. Teddie hugged his head and hid behind the girls. They had never once seen the usual calmed boy would be so angry over someone.

Minato stared at Yu's furious face, still maintaining his cool face.

"…What do you want?"

"…You know it the most!" Yu shouted. "Why are you putting the team in danger?"

"Didi I? I thought I save Chie from her weakness." Tilting his head, Minato intentionally ignored the boy's furious.

"You rush too far ahead! This isn't your battle. This is OUR battle! Why are you ignoring the others and rush ahead?"

"… …"

Minato couldn't answer.

Indeed, he went too far in the battle. He should wait for the others instead of charging ahead. But sometimes, he would lose himself during the battle. Part of him would act before he could think about it. When Chie was hit by Agi, he took that blow for her without further thinking. He had this habit in the past two years ago, but his other teammates would accommodate him and follow up the attack instead of waiting for him.

That time, he was the one leading the team and giving commands. He could do whatever he felt it's right to do. However, this time, he was the one followed commands. It wasn't the same.

Perhaps he still couldn't adapt to the changes.

He felt sorry for the boy. Being a leader was a burden heavy than anyone else could imagine. He was supposed to be the one understood him the most. Yet, he was the one causing troubles to him.

His silence made Yu frustrated. He released the grasp, letting out a big sigh and turned to his back.

"…Sorry guys, we're heading back. Teddie, can you lead the way?"

"Y-Yes, sensei…"

* * *

On the way back to home, Minato followed behind Yu. The silver-haired boy didn't care to spare him a glance, but Minato needed his help to clarify something.

"…Yu, can you do me a favor?"

Yu widened his eyes in disbelief. How could he pretend nothing after what they had gone through?

"I'm sorry for asking you after such…disaster, but you're the only one I can depend on this." Minato scratched his cheek, averting eye meeting with Yu. "It's about Velvet Room."

"…What is that?"

"Only those bound by the contract can enter the room. In other words, I can't go in. But I need to check out something in that room. Can you help to get permission so that I can go in?"

He really needed to do this. Perhaps Yu saw the determination in the blue-haired boy's eyes, He rubbed his head in frustration.

"Alright…" Yu promised him without further thinking, although he looked irritated.

Minato held back the urge to sigh.

He was becoming more and more cunning. He knew clearly Yu wouldn't decline his request, even if Yu was losing temper. This was a deal after all, that Yu had to help him, while Minato offered his help in looking for the culprit.

With that, they headed to Shopping District. Minato waited patiently outside of the Velvet Room. Somehow, he felt restless. He expected the worst was behind the Velvet Room, but part of him refused to accept the fact.

Then again, if the worst happened and the seal broke, Dark Hour should visit this world. He stayed up to the midnight in the past two days, but Dark Hour didn't hit as he expected.

That's the reason he needed to figure out what happened, and who's calling him in his head.

He leaned against the wall behind, looking up to the sky. It's cloudy, as thick as the mystery surrounded him. Sometimes, he felt frustrated over the situation.

Why couldn't fate leave him alone? He asked over and over, but no one could provide an answer.

A moment later, Yu stepped out from the Velvet Room. From his expression, Minato knew something happened in there, as the boy's face showed everything.

"…What's wrong?"

"…You better see it yourself." Yu took a glance to the faint blue door, frowning. "Igor said you don't need permission to enter Velvet Room since you are part of the resident in that world. Come on, if you don't come in, I won't hear the end of it."

'Hear the end of it'…? Minato raised a brow, entered the Velvet Room behind Yu.

By the moment he felt he was sitting on the soft and comfortable thing, a sudden weight pounded on him, hitting his head.

"Urgh…"

"Aww…"

Both groaned in pain. Minato rolled his eyes at the girl who was hugging her head.

"…What are you doing here?"

The girl chuckled softly, giving him a sweet smile.

"I've finally met you, Minato!"

* * *

Alright, I've delivered chapter 4 to you. Can you guess who's the one at the end of the story? (Gosh, this is easy!)

I'll write deep into the argument between Minato and Yu and future chapters. I have a feeling that the argument doesn't develop enough. Sorry, I'll try to see what else I can do to fix it. But don't worry, this is part of the story. Minato and Yu will surely work together again.

Then, see you later!


	5. Chapter 5

"Minato…"

"Hmm?"

"M-I-N-A-T-O!"

"URGH!"

Her head buried into his chest, rubbing his chest like a spoiled child. The boy sighed, enduring the pain on his chest and gently stroked her hair.

"…So, why are you here?"

Snuggling in his arms, the auburn-haired girl lifted her head and gave the boy a glare.

"What? You don't care about me at all? You know what I've been through to get here!?" Her face filled with anger. "I can't believe all you care is the seal!"

Deadpanned, Minato let out another big sigh. He rubbed his nose, feeling irritated, yet relieved at the same time.

He couldn't afford to see anything happened to the girl. Part of the reason was that of the seal, but most of the reason was…

"I do care about you, but our priority is the seal, isn't it?" He leaned closer to her, leaving a soft kiss on her forehead. "I'm relieved to see you here, Hamuko."

The auburn-haired girl pouted, once again buried her head into his chest.

"…You don't have to tell me."

This warm atmosphere was interrupted by a cough from the surrounding. Lifting his head, Minato could see he was inside a limousine with Igor, Margaret and an unfriendly girl sat opposite. Yu was beside him, and Hamuko was on top of him.

"…Hi, Igor."

"It's nice seeing you again, young man."

Hmm…this was awkward. Igor was maintained his creepy smile, but Margaret was giving him a disgusting glare, while the unfriendly girl was blushing. And Yu…he widened his eyes, yet still very cool.

"Oh, you're Yu Narukami, present guest of Velvet Room, right?" Still sitting on top of Minato, Hamuko stretched out her hand to greet the silver-haired boy. "I'm Hamuko Yuki, nice to meet you!"

"N-Nice to meet you…" Shifting his eyes to the blue-haired boy, Yu wondered who the girl was.

They seemed intimate. Judging by the way Minato treated her, this girl was very special to him.

"W-What are you guys d-doing here!?" The unfriendly girl furiously pointed Minato and Hamuko, faced burned like a tomato. "D-Don't you feel shame at all!?"

The auburn-haired tilted her head, staring at the unfriendly girl with twisted brows.

"Should I?" She took a glance to the boy under her, who simply gave her a shrug. "Why should I feel shame for hugging Minato – my other self?"

"H-Huh?"

"What do you mean?" Yu and the unfriendly girl looked at each other, dumbfounded.

Before Hamuko answered them, Minato raised his hand to request to speak.

"…Sorry, but who are you?" Minato asked the unfriendly girl. "Are you an assistant of Velvet Room?"

"I'm not…I don't know who I am." The unfriendly girl lowered her head, gazing away.

"She's Marie. She…loses her memories. I'm now helping her to find her memories." The one speaking was Yu. He looked to Marie, assuring her.

"She's here for reasons, but she will not stay long," Margaret said. "When the time is right, she will return to where she should belong."

"You…! You're always like that, never intended to make it clear for me!" Marie huffed. She's so pissed off by the calmness of Margaret.

"Forget about it." Minato sighed, while Hamuko nodded as a sign agreed to him. "They will never tell you the truth. If you really want to get your memories back, do it yourself better than waiting for their answer."

"No worries, Marie-chan! I'm sure you'll get your memories back! Don't spoil your cute face, and smile~"

"J-Just shut up…" Marie blushed again. Seeing that, Yu, Minato, and Hamuko chuckled. "…Don't pretend like you know how I feel…"

"I know." Minato stared into Maris's eyes. "I lose part of my memories as well."

Marie bit her bottom lip and looked away from Minato.

"B-Back to the topic…what do you mean by he is your other self?" Marie's gaze shifted back and forth, finally laying her gaze on Hamuko's bright smile.

"As I said literally, Minato is my other self, and I am his other self. We're the counterpart for each other in the parallel world. In other words, hugging him is just the same hugging myself…I can even kiss him if I want!"

With that, Hamuko leaned closer to Minato, attempting to kiss Minato. However, Minato instantly pushed her mouth away to prevent that from happening.

"Stop teasing her, Hamuko."

"Aww…you're so meant, Minato." Failing in doing so, the auburn-haired girl pouted with disappointment on her face.

"…Although she is my counterpart, we're still different entities. You don't need to get confused." Minato explained, and took a glance at Yu. "…You get it?"

Yu nodded. "Then, what about the seal? If Hamuko-san is here, does the seal…?"

His question was the question Minato wanted to ask as well. Minato looked at the girl in his embrace.

"…I want to know it, too. Hamuko, can you tell me what happened?"

"…Well, do you remember what happened to you before you're been pulling away from the seal?"

"No. I lose my memories start from that point."

"I guess the one attacking me is the same who attacked you." Hamuko turned around, sitting next to Minato. "…A woman with black wings. She is damn strong, and kept attacking me! I can't even fight back. When I thought I was done, Theo and Elizabeth came. They helped me to get away while holding that woman. Thanks to them, I'm saved."

Theodore and Elizabeth? Raising his brows in surprise, Minato mentally thanked the sibling.

"…How are they?"

"They were hit quite badly. Don't worry, I'll keep checking on them." Hamuko smiled.

"…My brother and sister aren't weak. They will get better in no time." Margaret closed her eyes, smiled faintly.

"And to answer your question," Hamuko turned to Yu. "The seal is doing its job right now. My soul is connected to seal. That woman can do nothing to the seal without beating me. I am the last line of holding the seal."

"I see…" Yu lowered his head, fingers rubbing his chin as if he was pondering something.

"Minato...our powers are linked. If you grow stronger, I'll become stronger. So…be stronger, as strong as you can." Holding Minato's face with her palms, Hamuko sadly said. "But promise me, you'll have to be careful. I…I can't stand to see anything happen to you."

"…I'll be fine. Don't worry." Minato petted her head, wiping off the tears in her eyes.

She's…always like this. Minato got many girlfriends. Yukari, Mitsuru, Fuuka, Aigis, Yuko, Chihiro, and Maya…they were all good girls. However, none of them could occupy his heart like Hamuko did.

Perhaps she was his counterpart, she understood everything of him. His thoughts, his feeling, his loneliness, his fear…because she was there with him, he could endure this never-ending loneliness. He…needed her.

"I'll stay here for now. Come and visit me with gifts next time, you get it?" Hamuko giggled, letting go of Minato. "See you too, Yu!"

"…See you later, Hamuko-san."

After getting out from the Velvet Room, Minato took a deep breath and looked at the silver-haired boy.

"…Because of you, I manage to see her again. Thanks, Yu."

"…Don't mention it."

"…I'm sorry about what I said yesterday. I shouldn't try to explore your intention." Minato shoved his hands into the pocket, taking a step forward. "And…I'm sorry for putting you and the team in danger. I still need time to get used to your commands, but I might go off ahead next time. If that happens…"

Minato shifted his silver orbs to Yu - emotionless.

"If that happens again, you and the others can leave me behind. Once I'm done, I'll catch up with you guys."

"…What the…!?"

Unlike Yu's prudent strategy, Minato focused on speed and attack in order to kill the enemy as soon as possible. Their battle styles were different too. That's the reason Minato couldn't get used to Yu's orders. Furthermore, Minato has a weakness – a weakness that he didn't aware before, but he realized in the battle with Nyx. And it's too, the reason he chose to become the seal.

Yu widened his eyes in shock. Minato understood the boy's feeling and his flame. Narrowing his eyes, Yu balled his fists. His bottom lip was hurt, and he tasted ironic in the mouth.

"…Minato, do you know what you're talking about?"

"Of course. I try to avoid the danger of the team."

"…Did you ever discuss with us?"

"I'm discussing with you right now."

Rubbing his nose bridge, Yu exhaled and lifting his head to the ember sky.

"…Minato, from now on, you stay in the back line with Teddie. Don't step into the front-line battle. Clear?"

"…Is that your decision?"

"Yes."

Shrugging, Minato nodded. He would respect whatever decision from the leader. However…

"I'll try my best to stay on the back line, but I can't guarantee that."

If his habit got ahead of him, he might lose himself again.

"…I'm going to take a walk. You can go back first."

Refusing to listen to Minato, Yu walked away. He looked frustrated and exhausted, and the reason was that of Minato. The blue-haired boy knew it.

"…I'm just trying to give solution…"

Suddenly, Aigis's face came into his mind. That white android maiden…he still remembered her face wrapped in fear and shock when he left the team to fight Nyx alone. Suddenly, he understood the feeling of Yu.

Scratching his head, he felt sorry for the boy.

* * *

 **Yu's POV**

I can't believe what I heard.

Who does he think he is? What does he think he is?

I run on the street without bothering the others' weird glances. I need some private space to let out this suffocating feel. Or else…or else, I may end up punch Minato on the face.

…For the first time I met Minato, I knew he is full of mystery. He isn't easy to handle. Even now, I still don't know what's in the boy's mind. His eyes are…piercing – they are emotionless. Sometimes, I'm afraid to look straight into his eyes. Nothing reflects in them as if they are empty from the beginning.

Unconsciously, I come down to the embankment. I sit down on the bench, hoping the wind can lift my frustration.

I don't know how to say it, but Minato is sure one of the difficult to handle.

Although the boy is unmotivated, that's probably his nature. He can be so cheeky when dealing with uncle; he can be tricky when using fake name; he can be so willingly when agreeing in teaching him; he can be so calm in adapting the environment; he can be so reckless during battles; he can so lonely when waking up in midnight…all in all, I can't see through him – I can't understand him.

He is leisure in lives, even in his job. He doesn't seem to care the surrounding, but he does care. Some parts of us are similar. And I think with this similarity, I can understand him. However, I'm wrong – seriously wrong. When he dashes out to the enemy without further thinking, when he takes the blow without considering…I'm completely going dumb. His battle style makes me shocked as if he doesn't care about himself. I wonder, how his comrades worked with him?

I really have no idea how to deal with him anymore. I was so naïve to think that part of us are similar, but now I understand that I know nothing about him. Basically, I only know his battle two years ago, but no more. I know he lost his parents in an accident, as that is the starting point of his battle. How Minato lived his lives without his parents? What kind of feeling he had during his fight with Nyx?

And…what kind of realization he embraces when he decided to become the seal?

Because of him, I'm alive. I appreciate him…but at the same time, I'm scared. I can't deny the deepest feeling behind the appreciation.

What…is Minato?

What kind of lives he's been through?

I keep thinking and thinking…yet, I fail to figure it out.

* * *

They finally made it to the top floor of Rise's dungeon.

As promised, Minato stayed on the back line all the times. For few times, he failed to hold back the urge when the team was in danger, but Yu managed to handle it at last. It just seemed Yu didn't want him to involve into the battle.

But well, Minato had to agree that Yu was a better leader than him. He would first observe the situation, then took the most efficient way to take down the enemy and launched All-out-Attack. He took full advantage on the enemies and reached to the top floor without much effort, but still got a lot of experiences on dealing with different shadows.

He would say, he was impressive.

" _Hello, all you fans out there! Thanks for coming today!"_ Rise's shadow greeted them with a creepy bright smile. _"Today, you're gonna see every last inch of me!"_

Then, Rise's shadow ran further into the theatre. They all sweat dropped, dumbfounded. And then, they heard the growling of the shadows from the surrounding.

"W-We'd better move it! This is a thousand times worse than just hearing a few nasty secrets!" Yosuke urged the team with a hint of worry.

"The shadows are getting really aggravated! What we just saw is what that Rise girl is suppressing!" Teddie told them. "She'll be in trouble at this rate!"

"So, guess I'm on the rescue team now. Alright, let's hurry and go!"

They chased after Rise's shadow into the theatre. On the way, Yukiko took a glance at Minato behind her. She pursed her lips, looking to Yu.

"…Yu-kun, how about Minato-kun? Are we still leaving him at the back line?"

Minato stared the black-haired girl, and then to the silver-haired boy. Yu didn't spare him a glance, looking straight to the front.

"…Yes, he will stay on the back line with Teddie."

Hearing that, the others looked at each other, completely lost. Besides the unpleasant fight previously, they had no idea what happened to the boys. When Yu told Minato would stay at the back line together with Teddie, they were all shocked. They knew something went wrong, but they could do nothing about it.

Indeed, Minato put them into danger sometimes. But Minato was an experienced and strong fighter. Without him on the battlefield was a loss to the team. If this continued, sure something would happen one day.

They wanted to avoid that.

"Hey Minato, shouldn't you do something about this?" Chie said softly beside Minato, which Minato replied with a shake.

"…Let's get this over first."

For the moment, he didn't want to distract their attention from Rise's shadow. She was dangerous. If they didn't concentrate, something terrible might happen.

"…A-Alright…"

"There she is!"

They came to a theatre with a medium size stage. Rise's shadow stood on the stage, one hand grabbed the pole in the middle of the stage.

"Look, the real one's here too!"

The real Rise was on the stage too. She snuggled on the ground, seemed uncomfortable and painful.

" _AHAHAHAHA~"_ Rise's shadow opened her arms and laughed. _"They're all watching! All eyes are on me now!"_

"Stop it!" Rise shook her head, covering her ears. "Stop…!"

" _Awww…what's the matter? You wanna show your stuff, don'tcha?"_ Rise's shadow grabbed the pole and turned, spreading her legs, purposely showing off some part of her body. _"How's this?"_

"Please…stop…"

 _"…You want me to stop? As if that's even close to what you're really thinking, you little skank!"_ Rise's shadow was pissed off. Her golden eyes widened, looked disgusted. _"You're me, and obviously, I'm you!"_

"No…that's not true…!"

This was the first time Minato truly faced the confrontation of real self and shadow self. According to Yu, the others faced their shadow self before gaining persona. But this seemed dangerous, as Rise's shadow seemed almost went berserk.

And the same went to Rise, the real self too.

"Stop it…I said stop it! You're –"

"No! Don't say it!"

"You're – not me!"

At last, Rise shouted it out.

The air suddenly turned tense and heavy. Time seemed to pause at this moment until Rise's shadow let out a laugh.

" _Heehee…Ahahahahahahahaha…! Here it comes! Now, I'm finally myself!"_

Rise's shadow surrounded by some black mist, as if she was absorbing those mist into her body. And then, she turned into a giant one-dimensional shadow. She tangled on the pole like a pole dancer.

" _I am a shadow…the true self…and now, the moment you've been waiting for! It's time for me to show you every last inch of myself!"_

"Here she comes!"

"Minato, stay back!"

Minato cursed under his breath. What was Yu thinking? How could he stay back when they had to fight such a strong enemy!?

Shadow Rise didn't move at all, endured the team's attacks without sweating. She sounded in real pain but had no intention to fight back.

Wait…what's wrong here? Why didn't she fight back at all? What was she planning?

" _Ahahaha…enjoying yourself?"_ Shadow Rise sounded excited. _"You might as well die here!"_

Shadow Rise stretched out her hand, pointing at Kanji and a light swept over his body.

"Kanji!"

Out of blue, Kanji suddenly attacked Yosuke who stood beside him. Luckily, Yosuke managed to dodge before hitting him.

" _Ahahaha…I'll tell you…you will all die here!"_

Next, a laser light sweat over every one of them.

* * *

When Minato opened his eyes again, he was back to the Moonlight Bridge, the place that changed his whole life.

"What the…"

He stood in the middle of the flame. His parents lay inside the deformed car, blood dripping out.

Looking straight into his mother's silver orbs – as beautiful as he could remember – she smiled.

"…Live…"

The flame consumed his parents, and everything went black.

… …

The sky was green and the moon was yellow-green. Bloody water spread across the street, splashed when he ran through.

Mitsuru and Akihiko were running ahead of him, while the others were behind him. He felt an urge to scream – to stop this – but he couldn't.

He was trapped in this nightmare. Panting, his heart skipped a beat when seeing Shinjiro lay in the pool of red liquid. Ken and Akihiko were yelling something to Shinjiro, yet Minato could no longer listen to them.

This was an endless nightmare.

… …

Standing behind Junpei, Minato saw some blood dropped out from Junpei's chest. Without realizing it, Junpei fell, but Chidori rushed to him and embraced the capped boy. Red liquid dripped out from Junpei's mouth. Everything turned red.

Again.

Again, he couldn't do anything. When he failed to save Shinjiro, he swore he wouldn't let anyone else died before his eyes. Yet, he couldn't stop Strega, let alone taking that shot for him.

All he could do was watching it happened, and did nothing.

He was a failure. He couldn't save anyone.

And now, he still couldn't save anyone.

* * *

Alright, chapter 5 is finally done. Sorry but this chapter is a bit shorter. I figure if I don't stop it now, it may end up being too lengthy. Let's save the rest for chapter 6.

From now on, I will add on Yu's POV into the story, so you reader can read the story from many aspects. Still, we will focus on Minato's side, since this is P4G: Messiah story.

Then, next time!


	6. Chapter 6

**Yu's POV**

I can't remember since when my family starts to move from place to place.

We're a middle-income family and rent a small house in Tokyo like everyone else. It's quite difficult to live in a big city with such high expenses, but I am happy to stay with them. A family is where I feel home the most, yet the money is always the biggest obstacle that can crush a family.

Mom and dad always quarrel about money. Mom wants a good quality life, and always think she should give me the best. When they start to quarrel, I will run to my room and lock the door. Although I have covered my ears, their voices are clearly reached to me. It makes me scare and shrink, tears gather in my eyes.

I hated money at that time.

Why can a piece of paper crush my family?

Things start to get better when dad accepts a good job offer. With that income, mom and dad rarely quarrel. Mom is so happy that she doesn't need to worry about tomorrow's expenses and our family's future. I naively think that the problem is finally over, and I don't have to worry about they're getting quarrel again. However, this is only the beginning.

The pain starts from here.

To gain more and more money, I'm no more the focal point of my parents anymore. They only see money in their eyes. We rarely meet each other because of their jobs. They will rather stay at the office instead of coming back to home.

I receive a lot of money from them, yet I can't even see them once in a week. With no one at home, I ready foods myself, or if I'm too lazy to do so, I will buy from the convenient store.

Sometimes, I feel I'm a burden to my parents. I don't want to think it that way, but whenever I see the empty house, the gloomy thought will consume me. It turns to a suffocated place I hate the most.

One day, when I finally see mom and dad, they just tell me to pack my things up. They don't see me in their eyes like they have no concern to me. I feel chill runs through my body, and this is the first time I feel the deep coldness.

They aren't my parents anymore. They're but some strangers, strangers that simply live in the same house. Turning around, I give a last glance to the small house I live for the past ten years.

Whenever moving to a new place, I will try to make some new friends. Part of the reason is to adopt the new environment, most of it is to avoid bullying. For the first I transfer to a new school, I experience bullying from a group of boys at school because they say I look arrogant. This is ridiculous, but who cares about my feelings? The others have no intention to help me. The more, I hate to trouble my so-called parents, and knowing they will surely give me that despise look, I endure the bullying that lasts for a whole year. With this experience, I know that I should really make some friends to reduce the chance to get bullied.

And this keeps me surviving few years in different environments.

To live, I learn to cater the others, keeping a good relationship with people around, but avoid getting too close to them. This is the way I used to protect myself from getting upset by leaving my friends one day in the future.

However, this personality of me seems to attract some negative comments as well, such like frivolous, hypocritical and affected. I pretend I know nothing about it so it will ease my pain.

Those comments hit me in fact since I realize I start to change into someone I don't recognize, but I must.

Even though…I feel tired.

I must pretend the same way until I'm finally graduated. And this year, I transfer to Yasogami High…

Wait, what is this…? Something pierces into my mind.

What…am I doing here? Yasogami High…Yasoinaba…the serial murder case…Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko, Kanji, Teddie, and…Minato…

"Argh!"

Damn it…what the pain.

I'm finally remember everything. Shadow Rise must have done something to me, and force me to me review my lives. What a shame…by the way, how should I get out of here?

In a pitch black, I saw some red light not far ahead of me. I figure I should do something and instantly run to the direction of light.

I feel the heat from the light as I get closed to it. Later, I figure that so-called red light is the fire. Besides, I find a deformed vehicle slowly consumed by it. In front of the vehicle, a blue-haired boy is there.

That is…

Suddenly, the flame turns fierce and wraps on me. Gasping, I unconsciously shut my eyes. For a moment, I think I'm burning, yet I don't feel the heat. And then, the scene change. The blue-haired boy is in front of me, running after someone.

"Wait…!"

Without considering, I chase after him. Besides the blue-haired boy, few more people are running together. They look panic and anxious as if running for life. When they finally stop running, I only see -

A pool of blood.

"Urgh!"

Blood? What happens here?

A man lies on top of the blood, while the others stand plant on their positions – including the blue-haired boy.

This is the first time I really face someone's death. Although I know nothing about the man, I feel grieved. The man's dead, but the smile on his face makes my heart breaking. I turn my head to the blue-haired boy, but his bang completely blocks his face.

Is that someone he knows? I intend to walk closer to him, but the scene change, again.

The boy with a capped is shot. A bloody flower blooms on his chest as he collapsed. A red-haired girl rushes to him and takes him in arms. The blue-haired boy is standing behind the capped boy, freeze. This time, I can finally see his face.

He widens his eyes in deep shock, while the others are screaming, he remains unmoved.

The next second, scene changes to a top of some weird building with the green sky on top my head, a middle age man replaces the capped boy.

A redhead sits on top of the blood, crying over the man's death.

Seeing too many deaths in front of my eyes, I feel lightheaded. Enduring the pain, the blue-haired boy slowly turns his head to me.

Our eyes meet, and -

A drop of tear flows down from his silver orbs.

… …

"-!"

Under some pressure, I jerk up from the floor.

Panting hard, I shake my head to recap the situation.

Aside from me, Yosuke, Yukiko, and Chie are getting up. Teddie shrinks at the corner while Kanji is a step slower than the others, but he is trying to get up. And Minato -

He's there. He's still lying there.

"Minato!"

" _What? How did you break my mind manipulation?"_ Shadow Rise gasps lightly.

So, she manipulated us, huh?

Damn!

"Guys, you alright?"

"Yeah…kinda."

"I-I'm fine, Yu-kun…"

Their faces are pale. I can see Yukiko is trembling – although she tries to suppress it. We all must've seen different things. What we see is what we fear the most. Dammit! That's meant she completely sees through us!

I command them to hold Shadow Rise and see what kind of attack will work, while I run to Minato.

"Minato! Hey, wake up!"

His sleeping face sends a chill down to my spine. I bite my bottom lips, shaking the boy harder. Later, Minato let out a groan, slowly open his eyes. Seeing that, I utter a relieved sigh. So, no one is hurt because of the manipulation, but somehow, I feel exhausted. Mind manipulation seems tired me out more than I imagine.

"Yu, our attacks don't work at all!"

"She dodges all the physical and element attacks! What should we do!?"

" _Ahahaha! No touching allowed!"_

"Damn, it's like it's anticipating our every move…"

"I-I'm completely useless…" Teddie hugs his head sounds like almost cry out.

Once again, I feel something sweep through my body. A chill rises from my back as if someone sees me completely raw. I hold breath unconsciously until Minato breaks out to a laugh.

"Hey…you alright?"

He is awkwardly silent at the moment he's awake. I recall the scenes in the illusion that I aware the blue-haired boy is Minato for sure.

"…Analysing skill, huh?"

I shock.

This is the first time I see this look on Minato. This moment, the image of Minato overlaps with Death. I smell ironic in my nose. I can see blood in my surrounding, I even - see

Yosuke and the others lie on top of the blood.

Blood. Blood. Blood. Blood everywhere.

For a second, I lose in the illusion that reflects in my eyes. Panting for air, sweats roll down to my cheek.

"Yu-kun!"

Yukiko's voice brings me back to reality. When I back to my sense, Shadow Rise let out a high-pitch laughter.

" _Woohoo! Analysis complete! Okay, here comes my counterattack! See if you can dodge, hmm?"_

"S-Stop it!"

The Almighty power splashes across the theatre, blowing us up. The place turns into a complete mess. I can hardly brace myself up. Turning my head to the others, they're suffering the pain as mine. Yosuke seems to take the blow for Teddie, as his wound is serious than the others.

"Y-Yosuke!"

"How're we supposed to win…!?" Chie mumbles, holding her breath as she endures the pain.

"A-Are we…going to die…?"

No! I'm not gonna let that happen!

The death in Minato's memories are too shocking for me. I can't bear to see that happen! Never!

"No way…" I taste ironic in my mouth, but I don't care anymore. "I'm not gonna let you all die here!"

"Yu…!"

" _Ahaha…Try if you can!"_

Shadow Rise gathers the power of Almighty again, and prepare to fall upon us. I call for a persona – whatever persona I can think at this fatal moment.

"Sensei! No!"

"Get out of here, Teddie!" I order, and this is probably my last command.

"A-Abandon you…? Only I'd get away…?" Teddie's expression changed. "N-No…I can't-do that!"

" _Well, goodbye…forever!"_

Teddie pushes me away and stands in front of everyone. His body is trembling severely. I can see he is scared to hell, yet he…

"Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! I-I feel like I'm going bear-serk!"

" _Hmm…!? This high-energy reading…"_

"Roarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrwwwwwwwwwwww!"

Teddie is surrounded with some weird light. As he dashes to Shadow Rise, he looks like a rocket that will crush everything. I can only watch him charges to Shadow Rise, and everything goes blink.

"Teddie!"

When I regain my senses, Shadow Rise returns to human form. She keeps coughing, lying on the stage with a grieved face.

While Teddie…

"Teddie!"

He turns to a piece of bear-paper.

"You idiot…you coulda died…" Kanji sighs as he confirms the bear is alive. I feel relieved too.

I don't want to see anyone dies in front of me, even it is Teddie. Unconsciously, I take a glance on Minato. He is helping Rise to get up.

"Did I…did I help…?" Teddie asks weakly. He is terribly burned.

"You didn't just help, you saved our lives!"

"Neat! I'm so glad…I didn't want to be alone anymore…"

"Teddie…"

I help him to get up. Gazing away, I feel bad looking Teddie wraps with black fur and suffers such a pain because of us. I mentally feel that this is my fault. If I am stronger, none of this will happen.

After confirming the bear is alright, I rush to Rise's side.

"Rise!"

"Rise-chan!"

"…She's alright." Minato nods his head to me. He turns back to the normal Minato I know as if the expression I saw before is some illusion.

"I'm sorry…it's all my fault…"

"Don't say that. It's not your fault." I try to comfort her.

"But…but…it's still something 'I' did…" Rise looks down to her feet, but soon she turns to her shadow who still lying behind her. "Here, stand up."

I can see her shadow is seriously wounded, yet none of us lend her a hand when she struggles to get up.

"I'm sorry…you must've been in a lot of pain up to now. You're part of me, but I kept refusing to admit you existed…" Rise lowered her head, eyes seem to shine with tears. "I was trying to figure out who the real me was."

She stops to wipe the tears in her eyes. I can see the smile on her face now.

"But I realize now that I was on the wrong track. There is no real me. It just doesn't exist."

Behind me, I hear Teddie is mumbling something. Minato turns to his back, staring at Teddie. I wonder what's in the boy's mind again.

"You, me…even Risette…they were all born from me. All of them are…me."

Her shadow slowly loses her appearance as Rise and dissolves into another form. Another her has manifested from Rise herself – Himiko.

"Rise-chan!"

Rise collapses immediately after facing her true self. Yosuke holds her in the arm, patting her back to comfort her.

"I'm alright…Hey, you're the one who came to the store, right…?"

"Oh yeah…and these guys came with me."

Rise giggled when she looks at me. I nod to her, glad that she isn't hurt. Gratefully, we make it in time.

"…Guys, something's not right."

Minato's voice sounds from behind. I feel something off with the tension in his voice, quickly turns to him and –

" _Real? Me? Such foolishness…"_

"No! Get back!"

Another Teddie with creepy golden eyes appeared behind Teddie.

"What is that thing…?" Yosuke unconsciously holds on his knives tightly.

"…His other self, probably." Minato says, slightly curses.

Rise stands up from her position, glaring at Teddie with an alert. I brace her as she stumbles forward.

"I believe so, but it seems like there's more…I felt some powerful presence intervene…"

"Wh-What's going on!?" Teddie turns to his back, screaming when he sees the bigger size of his version. "Whooaaa!"

" _The truth is unattainable…it will always shroud in fog. Though you reach through the murk and the gloom to grasp something, you have no means to know it is the truth…in which case, why…? What sense is there in yearning for truth?"_

Shadow Teddie says something I can hardly understand. Are that Teddie's real thoughts? Or is that…?

" _Close your eyes. Lie to yourself. Live in a blissful ignorance…it is a much smarter way to exist."_

"S-Shut up! You're making it sound difficult because I'm not that smart!" Teddie shouts to his other self.

" _You're hollow. Empty. At your core, you know this…you just cannot accept it. So you seek an alternate form…a denial of your nature."_ Shadow Teddie says coldly. _"You have no lost memories. If you have forgotten everything, it is this truth."_

"I said shaddup! It's a lie! It's all a lie!"

"Teddie!"

" _It is the same for you all…you undergo suffering because of your search for the truth. This world is filled with thick, heavy fog…how can you find something when you know not what you search for?"_

This time, Shadow Teddie is speaking to us.

Damn, he is true. His words hit me as part of me know he is damn too right about it. Yet, I want to deny it. If I don't, I'll have to admit what we did is a failure.

But we saved lives. We saved Yukiko and Kanji and now Rise. We may not solve the case, but we save lives.

"We will find the truth."

" _And thus, you invite more suffering to yourselves…it is beyond my comprehension. Then, I shall grant you a truth…You will all die here."_

I can feel the malevolence from the shadow. The next second, he turns into a giant devastate bear with huge and sharp claws, blocking our ways to the entrance.

"Damn…how are we going to fight this thing without the bear?"

"…Hmph."

I hear a snort from Minato, in which he takes a step forward, standing in our front.

* * *

"Rise, analyze the enemy."

Minato held tight on the sword and said. He felt bad for pushing the girl just after she obtained her persona, but now wasn't the best timing for her to rest.

"Huh?"

"W-Wait! She just gains her persona! Isn't it too forceful?" Chie glanced at Rise, worry filled her face.

"She has the power none of us have. She's the only one can do it." Ignoring Chie, Minato said with a deep voice. If the girl didn't do something, all of them might die here.

He's not going to let that happened. He believed this feeling of him was the same as Rise.

Biting her lips, Rise stood straight. With fear and joyous to be able to help mixed in her eyes, she nodded to Minato.

"…I'll do it. I can do it!" With that, she summoned Himiko and started going into analyzing. "It's my turn to save you all!"

"Wait…what are you doing, Minato?"

Taking a glance to Yu, Minato slightly narrowed his eyes.

"…Face it. You're all worn out, but I remain most of my strength." He's not backing down this time. Never. "Back me up, or shut up."

He could see Yu was frozen, as he widened his eyes and bit his bottom lip. Ignoring his shock, Minato turned to Shadow Teddie, pulling out his evoker and aimed to his temple.

" _I am a shadow…the true self. I shall give you the truth you claim to hold so dear…the inescapable fact of your death here!"_

"Death…?" Minato raised a smile. "You know what death is? Then, I shall show you Death! Come forth…now it's your turn, Thanatos!"

He pulled the trigger and shot his temple. Blue light illuminated from the bottom of his legs, a figure with metal mask and coffins chained behind appeared on top of Minato. Thanatos let out a roar, shaking the air.

"What's wrong seeking for truth? We don't need your permission! The hell of it!"

"W-What is this…!?" Chie and Yukiko gasped and held each other together.

"Is that a…persona?"

"Hey hey…he once again summons such a terrible persona…" Yosuke rubbed his head.

"Partner, what do you think? Are you going to back down?"

Yu blinked for a while.

Minato showed that ferocious face again. Indeed, he remained most of his strength, but the mind manipulation should drain him a lot, too. And the persona he summoned…somehow,

Yu felt dreaded.

" _I got it! Don't use Ice spells on it! Please be careful!"_ Rise announced and dismissed Himiko. She coughed a few times, panting for air.

Minato nodded to the girl. At least he knew Bufu skill was out of the option. The rest…he could handle it.

He ordered Thanatos to attack Shadow Teddie, while he too, unsheathed the sword and charged out.

Seeing Minato involved into the battle, Yu gritted his teeth and forced himself to stand straight.

"...Yosuke, to answer your question, I will say the hell I will stay back and shut up."

Yosuke grinned, taking a step forward.

"That's my partner! How about you guys?"

"Count me in, senpai!"

"Yeah, no way we'll let Minato fight alone!" Chie said, with Yukiko nodded beside her.

"I'll take care of Rise-chan and Teddie."

"We'll leave them to you, Yukiko."

With that, Yu grabbed his katana, together with the team, they ran to Shadow Teddie.

"Izanagi!"

Yu summoned Izanagi, blocking the claw from Shadow Teddie that was attempting on Minato. Following up, Jiraiya cast Garula on Shadow Teddie, while Tomoe cast Rampage.

Shadow Teddie groaned, roaring and use Mind Charge.

"Guard!"

Seeing that, Minato quickly reacted to it by lifting his sword to defend. The others followed behind, only Yu changed his persona to King Frost and Chie rushed ahead due to her resistance to ice. Enduring the attack from Chie, Shadow Teddie cast Mabufula to the team.

Receiving minor damage, Minato commanded Thanatos to use Tempest Slash.

Meanwhile, Kanji and Chie used Kill Rush and Rampage, Yosuke and Yu used Garula and Zionga on Shadow Teddie.

"He's becoming weaker! Just a little more!" Rise told.

Letting out another roar, Shadow Teddie gathered some energy on his left claw. Black and viscous energy ball started to form on top of his claw as the air turned heavier.

"Hey…this feels bad."

Something was totally wrong, all of them could feel it. Yu ordered the team to defend, but Minato completely ignored him.

"Minato!"

"…Thanatos."

Minato ran after Thanatos, slashing his sword to Shadow Teddie. Using one of his claws to fight, Shadow Teddie seemed unstable, yet he was too stubborn to give up. The black energy ball turned bigger than before, letting out unknown and dangerous tension.

Minato felt it too. Taking his land, he dismissed Thanatos first and managed to guard before Shadow Teddie released his powerful Almighty clap.

"Argh!"

"Come forth, Konohana Sakuya!"

Yukiko, at the back, quickly cast Media to the team.

"What is that!? It's hurt!"

"Look, here it comes again!" Chie pointed to Shadow Teddie, who once again gathered black energy on his claw.

" _You all…shall die here!"_

"Thanatos!"

A shot sounded the Death once again rise from Minato's mind. This time, Thanatos charged out with incredible speed, slashed down his sword fiercely, cutting down Shadow Teddie's claw. With the pain, Shadow Teddie let out a sharp cry, and the black energy dismissed at the same time.

"I won't let you do that again…Brave Blade!"

Thanatos wielded his blade in incredible speed, flying up to the air and dashed down, sending a severe slash to Shadow Teddie.

Shadow Teddie struggled with the pain, shocked when Minato pierced his sword straight to his eye. Black liquid splashed out from his left hollow eye, Shadow Teddie shivered in grieve.

Seeing Shadow Teddie was yet to surrender, Yu summoned Izanagi.

"Guys, last strike!"

"Roger!"

"Got you!"

"Go to hell!"

Following Yu, Yosuke, Chie, and Kanji summoned personas, using their best magic and physical attack. Like an arrow, it pierced through Shadow Teddie. Without delaying, Yu followed up next by giving a slash to finish off the enemy.

" _Awwwwwwwwww!"_

Giant Shadow Teddie turned back to the normal size, silently stood at the back. Minato let out a sigh, feeling exhausted from the fight. Everyone ran to Teddie, who was lying on the ground.

"Teddie!"

Teddie stared at his other self.

"I…I don't know who I am. I've thought a number of times…that maybe there is no answer…but I'm here…I live here."

His voice was timid, trembling lightly, knowing that even he kept thinking about it, he wouldn't get the answer. Or perhaps, there was never an answer for him.

Yu petted the bear, smiling.

"Teddie, you're not alone. You don't have to do this your own."

"Yeah dude, we can help you."

"Yeah…although Kanji can be helpless in using his brain." Yosuke teased, earning some chuckles from the team.

"I'm sure we'll find out about you, as we continue investigating this world."

"Yuki-chan…everyone…!" Teddie's eyes were teary. "I-I'm one lucky bear! Waaaaaaah!"

Beneath Shadow Teddie, the blue light illuminated dimly. Surprised, everyone saw Shadow Teddie slowly turned into a persona and dissolved into Teddie.

"Is that…a persona?"

"Whoa, Teddie…I can sense strong power from it…it's awesome…" Rise panted. After enduring the pain being sucked in this world and summoning her persona, she had come to her limit.

"Rise!"

"Whoa! Are you alright!?"

"…Sorry to force you summoning persona. Let me carry you outside." Feeling sorry, Minato volunteered to offer his help.

"…Don't say that. I'm happy to help…"

"Come on, let's hurry outside!"

* * *

After some discussion, Yukiko and Chie volunteered to take Rise home. Since Teddie wanted to be alone for the moment, they all went back home to get some rest.

Minato yawned while they waited for Dojima to come back. It seemed he was late today. Minato wanted to hit the bed, but it would be best to stay if Dojima was present.

Out of their surprise, although Dojima was back, with Adachi carried him on the shoulder.

"Whooooo…I'm hooome. Nanako, I'm back!"

Oh great, he smelled terrible alcohol smell from the man. Minato took a few steps backward secretly.

"W-Welcome home…"

"Oh hmm…Nanako-chan. Sorry, but could you go get his futon ready?" Minato wondered if the guy saw the sad face of Nanako and simply told her to away from this place. Adachi didn't seem to be such a nice guy at all.

"A-Alright…"

After placing Dojima on the sofa, Adachi let out a sigh.

"Phew! I think he had a little too much to drink…haha."

It wasn't funny at all, Minato rolled his eyes. Adachi immediately gazed away after meeting his glare.

"How else…am I supposed to deal with this crap!?" Suddenly, Dojima yelled, letting out some hic. "…Friggin' fancy-talkin' kid…"

Weird, Naoto Shirogane's face came across Minato's mind. If he remembered correctly, the kid once said he was helping police to solve the case. But…things didn't seem to work the way it should be.

Well, he could imagine the scene since he had a deal with that boy before. Naoto sure was a tough one to handle.

"I've…I've been in this line's work…since you were all learnin' yer timetables!"

"The prefectural police sent in special investigational support. You know, we haven't really made any progress on the serial murders since they started in April…haha. So this special support is supposedly a hot-shot detective from a well-known private agency…"

So, it WAS Naoto Shirogane.

"He's only a kid your age! I hear he's a pretty sharp cookie, though."

"Ace or no ace…the prefeckshure oughtta be more careful about giving us brats to babysit…Condescendin' bashtards…"

And after that, with Dojima's temper, the three of them became the target to scold one by one, like how Yu wondered around the crime scene, or how Minato was suspicious and so on until Nanako broke the tension by telling the futon was ready.

Phew, that saved all of them.

But Minato understood his difficulty as well. Being in the line as a police officer, there's no doubt Dojima had more experience than Naoto. But that's just how life was. Having more experience didn't mean anything.

It's tough being an adult, too. Minato felt sorry for the man, yet he just shrugged off the matter.

* * *

Hello again. Finally, chapter 6 is done. Once again, I would like to apologize for any grammar mistake and typo. Does anyone of you have a suggestion how I should improve the grammar mistakes? Please ~~

And to **gerson** , I am very sorry for the grammar mistakes. I know I have this problem, and I will try to improve myself. As for Yu and Minato here, they're equal, in fact. They both have something which is better than each other. To me, Yu is calm and he can work well with his teammates by giving the right command in the right timing, while Minato, he is calm, but he can be an impulse person in some ways. Compare to Yu, Minato is more capable in handle emergency event. Well, that's my opinion, and the way I try to mention in the story based on the reference in animation.

Lastly, I want to thank all of you who favorited and followed.

Well then, it's time to say goodbye. See you next time!

P/S: I have edited all the chapters so far to minimize the grammar mistakes and typos. I need time to find a beta. For the moment, I use some app on net to help me.


	7. Chapter 7

"Eh?"

Hamuko blinked for a moment when she saw Yu before her, as Yu had the same expression.

"H-Hi, Hamuko-san…"

Inside the Velvet Room, no one here besides the two of them. Igor, Marie, and Margaret…they weren't here. This was rare, and never had it happened before.

"Hmm…this is strange. Do you see Igor and the others?"

"No…I'm wondering, too." Holding the snacks on his hand, Yu chuckled dryly. "Emm…Hamuko-san, these are for you."

"Wow~ snacks!" Hamuko laughed brightly that seemed would melt everything. Seeing that, Yu quickly averted his gaze. "Thank you, Yu!"

What should he put this…? Damn, Hamuko-san was cute.

"W-Welcome…"

Hamuko silently stared at Yu, knowing something was in his mind. The snacks on her hand were the one he prepared to meet her from the start. Knowing this, Hamuko let out a soft chuckle.

"So…what do you want from me?"

"Eh!?"

"Nothing happens in Velvet Room is mere coincidence, that's what Igor and Margaret always say." Hamuko winked at him. "You're looking for me, right?"

Considered to the odd situation now, Hamuko could only come up with this – Yu needed

something from her, and absolutely it was related to the certain blue-haired boy.

"Well…yeah, something I need to clarify with you…regarding Minato."

* * *

 **Yu's POV**

I feel embarrassed to ask this question. However, after yesterday's battle with Shadow Rise and Shadow Teddie, and after seeing that illusion, I know I can't avert my eyes from it.

I must clarify, for the sake of myself, and for Minato.

I recall the images I saw in the illusion. I'm not sure are they the memories of Minato, or simply the illusion created by Shadow Rise to manipulate him. I told whatever I saw to Hamuko-san, and she seems to give me a saddened smile.

"…Oh, you saw those, huh?" Hamuko-san crossed her fingers under her chin. "…Unfortunately, those aren't an illusion. Those…are true."

Hearing that, my heart skips a beat. How does Minato overcome so many deaths of someone he knows?

How does he do it?

Ignoring my shock, Hamuko-san continues without looking at me.

"…Many things happened in the year we transferred back to Iwatodai. We met a lot of people, became a member of SEES, interacted with different people…all sort of happy things, though I wonder Minato enjoyed it as much as I do." Hamuko-san chuckled lightly.

Well, I can imagine that.

"But, there were a lot of saddened things happened, too. We lost our friends, being betrayed by someone close…and to fight someone we love."

I can hardly imagine how Minato and Hamuko-san go through with all this. Indeed, I know death, but that's someone else's death. The closest I know is Saki-senpai, who is killed by her other self. Yet, the pain of losing someone dear isn't as hard as I can imagine.

Comparing to Yosuke, my sadness is nothing. I can barely share his grieve.

In truth, I know nothing about death…I bet no one else does know. How many people will think about death before facing it? Even so, I can't convince myself for being so naïve.

"Don't give me that look, Yu."

I'm startled by Hamuko-san. Do I look weird?

"…You look so confused and sad."

I touch my face unconsciously. Sighing, I shake my head to lighten the dizziness.

"…I'm sorry." For one that knowing nothing, I shouldn't give such a look to Hamuko-san. I know nothing about her pain.

"Don't worry about that." Her smile is bright as ever. How much sadness is hidden under that smile? "Well…Yu, if you want to know more about Minato, I'll suggest you ask Minato directly. Although we're the counterpart for each other, we're still different entities, just like Minato said before."

"…That's why I came for you instead, Hamuko-san."

If this can be easily asked, he wouldn't visit her in the first place. How should I explain this to her?

Seeing my helpless face, Hamuko-san let out a small laughter.

"Yu, don't make it too difficult. Minato looks cold and distance, but that's the nature shaped by the environment around him. During that one year, his encounters were more painful than I had."

Behind the smile, it's sadness – the sadness I can never share or bear for her. The one that can take it, it's Minato, her counterpart. Minato's light-build and lonely figure comes across my mind.

I don't know how am I ended up on the way home. Hamuko-san's words fill my mind as I keep walking on the street.

" _Because of the encounters on his young age, he has a bad habit that couldn't be changed. I guess you should have learned."_

Yeah…that really puts me and the Investigation team into danger. What makes him act like that – to sacrifice himself in the battle?

Hamuko-san refuses to answer me. The only way I can get the answer…is to ask directly from Minato.

But…how should I ask him?

* * *

How should he put it?

Minato secretly took a glance on the silver-haired boy, wondering what's wrong. Yu was obviously unfocused during the conversation with the others. Minato didn't know whether the others aware it or not, but he noticed the strangeness.

Rise and Teddie became part of the team today, and the most surprised one was Teddie gained the human form. He wasn't hollow inside that bear suit anymore. Minato thought, this was a good sign, and the bear would stop figuring what he was.

Seeing the interaction of the team, Minato couldn't help but smile. He mostly remained silent and only spoke whenever it's needed. The others seemed to use to it as well. He felt comfortable to stick with them, just like the time he's with SEES. They really reminded him a lot of his friends.

Yet, what's wrong with Yu today? He seemed to have many things in his mind. He hoped it had nothing to do with him…wait, why was he thinking this way? Argh…he had a bad feeling.

When this bad feeling turned into a fact he couldn't deny, he started to hate his intuition.

A message from Yu. Obviously, it wasn't a good thing.

He felt slightly annoyed, yet part of him knew this would come sooner or later. He had to face the silver-haired boy one day.

He didn't know what Yu want to talk to him, but after combining all the facts, there's only one possibility.

After everyone was gone, he followed Yu's instruction and took the bus at Shopping District, heading up to the hill.

Up at the hill, Minato closed his eyes to feel the wind.

Yu was yet here, but Minato didn't worry at all. He knew that boy would show up for sure. All he needed to do was waiting for him.

When Yu finally showed up, Minato was taken aback by the things he brought with him.

Those were shinai. What was Yu trying to do with those things?

Don't tell him…

"Sorry for the late." Yu tossed a shinai to Minato. "…Do you remember the promise you make? To teach me fighting skills."

Well, of course, he remembered.

"Then, it's time to fulfill the promise. Come and have a match."

* * *

 **Yu's POV**

I ready myself, preparing to start the match.

A hint of shock runs across Minato's face as he grabs the shinai, but it soon disappears.

Remaining his poker face, Minato let out a sigh.

"…You call me all the way up to the hill for this?" I can feel the annoyance in his tone. "What's your intention?"

"…I want to have a match with you, that's it."

Everything can talk after the match, I add in in my heart. This is the only way I can think of. I feel embarrassed to ask it straight, and I doubt Minato will answer me as well. Having a match is the chance I can see through his skill and strength. Of course, in term of strength, I don't think I'll lose to him.

Minato waves the shinai on hand, seem to get a good feeling beforehand. I lock my eyes on his move, grabbing my shinai tightly.

"…Alright, if that is what you wish." I can hear the annoying sigh escapes out from Minato's mouth, as he put the shinai down. "Have you fought anyone besides shadows?"

I twist my brows.

What's with that question? Even I was being bullied by schoolmates, I never intend to revenge them, let alone hitting people.

With no hint of where the question will lead, I hesitate for a while before shaking my head to him.

"I see…neither am I two years ago." Minato smiles, shrugging. "However, things can change…depends on circumstances."

Out of blue, Minato suddenly pierces his shinai to me. I can barely dodge it and the shinai hit my left shoulder. I cover my left shoulder with a hand, jumping away from Minato.

If that's a real sword, my shoulder is bleeding no doubt.

"You…!"

"…Careless can kill you in instant, either your opponent is the shadow or human." Minato raised a grin. Damn, that grin pisses me off.

I stand straight, and once again ready to fight. This time, I'm not going to wait for Minato to take the first move. I charge to Minato, waving the shinai from up to down. Minato dodges it easily, but that's completely in my prediction. With no delaying, I change the orbit of shinai, slashing to his direction.

However, as if predict my moves, Minato simply blocks it and returns a kick to my leg. I stumble, falling to my back. Before Minato launches another strike, I quickly get back to my feet.

This time, Minato takes the dominance by striking first. I curse under my breath. Losing the first strike made me feels restless. I can only block or dodge whatever attack Minato throws to me. His attacks are fast and piercing, without the way I can counter. Even he is using shinai, a simple weapon in practice, I can still feel my heart is racing with fear.

It looks as if real sword on Minato's hand.

No…it is my fear which makes me feel that way. The fear of hurting someone…hurting Minato. The fear draws my shinai away and gets the best of me. My arms and legs slowly feel numb.

Dammit! Move! Yu Narukami, you must move! Right now!

I scream in my head. My body seems out of my control. Although I dodge the direct slash from the front, I still stumble to the side without control. Taking this chance, Minato keeps on attacking as I try my best to defend.

"Argh!"

The shinai hit my wrist, and my shinai drops. I cover my wrist, face twists due to the unbearable pain.

"I won." Minato declares his victory. "Yu, you have no intention to fight me. I can feel it through your shinai."

Yeah…what a shame. It is me who challenged Minato, yet I don't dare to hit him, even using a shinai.

Minato sat beside me, putting the shinai down to the ground.

"…Be proud of yourself. You're a kind man, too kind if I must say."

"I guess I'll have to thanks to your mercy, then?" I can't help but shoot him a death glare. If he goes full strength, I will suffer more than this.

"…If you don't dare to hurt the others, you'll be hurt later. We're all living by hurting each other. No one can escape this rule. One day, you'll have to pick up the sword and aim to the others."

Will I? I gulp, heart starts to race.

Will I someday hurt the others like what the others did to me? I don't care how my parents treat me like a stranger…I don't care how the other people bully me, I want to be myself. I feel more about that way since I came to Inaba, to be with Dojima family and my friends. I know I'm walking down a dangerous path, but I have no worries.

I am me. I want to be true to myself.

Once again confirming this in my heart, I nod to myself. I'm here to clarify things with Minato.

Let's get down to business.

"Minato, there is something I need to know."

Minato turns to me, giving me a long sigh.

"…I know this will come." Rubbing his head, Minato gives me an annoying look. "Then, is it about the illusion you saw?"

I nod. "I have asked Hamuko-san about that illusion, and she said those are real."

"…That big mouth…" I hear another sigh. Minato remains silent for a while before looking at me.

I am wondering what Hamuko-san meant by Minato's life is tougher than hers. They share the same fate. They should have gone through the same things.

"…Yeah, they are real. That's what happened to my surrounding two years ago. I don't know how you're connected to me in that mind manipulation…but the only possible reason is that we share the same arcana." _Although I don't want to let you see my dark past_ …I hear Minato murmurs under his breath.

Hearing that, I bite my bottom lip. Am I too weak to rely on? We're all fighting together. I hope we can share each other's pain. I hate to see Minato bear everything alone.

"Minato, tell me everything…what you've been through all these years." From there, I can understand more about him. I have a feeling that, understand more about Minato so I can walk together with him side by side.

I don't want to see him as a dealer. I want to be his friend, his comrade.

Minato raises a brow to me before saying anything.

"…As I told you before, everything starts to change since the day my parents died in an accident." The wind blows his bang, revealing his right silver eye. "I was hospitalized for few months. After released from the hospital, I was transferred from places to places, interchanging between relatives. Most of them took me in because of sympathy. When they talked about my parents, they all gave me a sympathetic look. I hated them and did my best to ignore them by using an earphone to keep myself away from them."

He seems to be proud of the earphone, I can see it from his smile. The MP3 and the earphone seem to accompany him for a long time. They are Minato's treasures.

"My mom told me to keep on living in her last word, yet I completely have no idea what to mean to 'live'. Yu, what is 'living' means to you?"

I blink for a while.

For a moment, I'm lost in words. My head goes blank. I can't think of anything to answer this question.

What is 'living'? I never give it a thought.

"…Don't think too hard." Minato smiles. "In fact, you're living now. That's what 'living' is."

I'm beaten. His question is metaphysics. I'm still too far to understand it.

"I was struggling to survive during all the years before transferring back to Iwatodai. I hate to talk to people when they gave me sympathy look. I locked myself away, living in my own world. As time went by, I completely lost the enthusiasm to communicate with the others. I felt empty in my life. Sometimes, I want to die so I can free from this world."

My heart skipped a beat. I can't imagine what life he has lived until he wanted to die so much. It sounds so distances from Minato. It is the world I can never understand.

Is that the reason he fought without caring his life?

"...Do you still think it that way now?"

"No, I understand the meaning of 'living' now." Minato smiled lightly. "There are many ways of living, just like a friend of mine. You saw it in the illusion...the man who died with a smile on his face."

I remember it. That's the face I can never forget.

"His name is Shinjiro Aragaki, my senpai from Gekkoukan High. Unlike our personas, his was unstable. Once, his persona went out of control and accidentally killed a mother. At the same time, the son of the mother witnessed everything."

I gulped, waiting for the rest of the story.

"Two years later, the son - Ken Amada finally found the killer. Fate was cruel to them. Ken sought for revenge. However, a group of artificial persona users interfered and his revenge was failed." Minato stopped for a while. I can see he tries to control his emotion.

"Artificial persona users…?"

The words catch my attention.

"They were some children survived the experiment of Kirijo Group many years ago," Minato explains, but not in detail. "...Still, Shinjiro died by protecting Ken. That's the way he did to redeem his sin." He lifts his head, looking at me. "See, that's one of the ways to live, although I don't agree with him. He was true to himself until the end. Everything you feel now, you do now, you see now, you hear now, is the proof that you're living."

My heart sank at this moment. It is true people can choose their ways of living. But this guy...the way he chose is too heavy and sad, to him, or to his friends.

However, I have no right to judge this Shinjiro guy. I may choose the same path if I am him. Who knows?

"Don't worry. Shinjiro is alive in Hamuko's world." I drop my mouth and shock. Minato chuckle at my reaction. "I was the same as you when Hamuko told me. Anyway, I'm glad he still has the chance to live. He deserves a better life."

From Minato's face, I can see he treats this guy as someone very important to him. It is a good news to Minato.

"That is 'living', a part of our life. And the same goes to death." Adjusting his posture, Minato moves a little closer to me. "Remember the artificial persona users I mention earlier? They called themselves Strega. They embraced death more than anyone of us."

"What do you mean…?"

"With the experiment they have been through, their life spans were shorter than normal people. They were the one truly live in present." As if recalling the memories, Minato let out a sigh. "They have no future. The only time they can live freely is the Dark Hour. They wanted Dark Hour to continue, yet we want to erase it. That made us fought each other. However, when the only female in Strega, Chidori, fell in love with our member Junpei Iori, she started to change."

If I remember correctly, there is a red-haired girl in a strange costume in the illusion. Is that Chidori he mentions?

"Strega embraced death because they had no attachment to life. When Chidori became attached to Junpei, she realized she was scared. This happened to me when I realized SEES became a home I have never felt."

I can understand that. Once, a house was a place I feel home the most. It changes now, yet I find Dojima Residence is warmer than the real home. With Dojima and Nanako, I feel I have found another home.

"When we confronted Chidori, another two Strega members stepped in, Jin and Takaya. Takaya shot Junpei on his chest. In order to save Junpei, Chidori sacrificed herself. Well, although she is alive, thanks to some miracle." Minato lowers his head as the wind blows again. "...Death is nothing to be scared. The one that would make you scared, is the attachment you have in the world."

Yeah...death is part of life. It will happen to anyone of us one day. That's the life cycle. But when I think about everyone in my life, I'm scared. I don't want to leave them. We form the bonds, and no one can live alone. I let out a shaky breath, moving to the next one.

"...How about the man who died in the weird tower?"

"You mean Mitsuru's father, Takeharu Kirijo?" Minato raised a brow. "Rumor says that he died due to illness. But in fact, he was killed during Dark Hour. Just like Shinjiro, no one will know the true cause of their death, besides the few."

The truth shocks me. That former president of Kirijo was killed? Although his cause of death is quite confused, even up until now, no one really thinks about a homicide.

But...now I can think it rationally. After hearing all these from Minato, I realize the years Minato and Hamuko-san go through are nothing mine can compare. Minato's nature is shaped by the environment around...I think I've finally understood it.

"...Minato, are these made you decided to save the world by scarified your life?"

He stared at me for a while, letting out a soft chuckle before speaking.

"...Do you think you have time to consider when the end is just about to happen?"

Hmm...he has the point.

"But...well, everything happened in that year sure is the main reason I made this decision. I decided it without further thinking. I want to be true to myself...to protect those important to me. That's my answer to life, and the way I want to live. No regret, of course." Minato smiled. His smile was so bright and cheerful, not in the way I have seen before.

And then, a peaceful silent fills the air. Minato doesn't say anything more, and it gives me times to think.

I get it now. To Minato, it doesn't matter if he is living in this world. I am sure he feels lonely and sad by leaving his friends behind, but that's his fighting. His friends will carry his will and move on to the future.

That's the 'living' Minato has chosen.

"...Yu, I must apologize for the trouble I have caused to you and the team." Suddenly, Minato says. "Whenever I see someone in danger, this bad habit will get ahead of me."

"...No, it's okay. I understand." I can say it now.

"...It reminds me of my parents' death." Minato lowers his gaze. "Now, it reminds me of Shinjiro's and Takeharu Kirijo's death...those I couldn't save back then."

"That's...not your fault. You don't have to bear all the responsibilities." Yes, I can say this right to his face now. "You can rely on us more. You don't have to do it all by yourself. Trust us more."

I may not be strong enough, but I will become stronger. To solve the case, I need to dig into the mystery. And I believe, together with everyone, we can do this.

Looking at me, Minato let out a smile and nod.

"...Alright then, you can leave your back to me, leader."

"I trust you, Minato."

We shake hands, and I feel the heaviness on my shoulder lifts.

"Then, shall we continue the match?"

"...What?"

"I think I can teach you more, while you can tell me your story. Come on, take your shinai."

I sweatdrop. Am I jumping into the hole I dug a moment ago? There's no way I can beat Minato!

* * *

"Orpheus!"

As Yu was fighting the shadow in front of him, another shadow tried to take advantage from his back. Instantly, Minato summoned Orpheus.

"Thanks!" At the same time, Yu and the others took down the enemies at the front, declaring victory.

"Hey...is it me, or you two become closer?" Chie crossed her arms, eying them in suspicious.

"Yeah...Yu-kun even allows Minato-kun to join the front line now." Yukiko smiled. "It seems the two of you become closer than before."

"Yeah...come on partner, tell us already." Yosuke sighed. "It is a good thing to see you guys now, but I am curious..."

" _Hmm? What do you mean Yosuke-senpai?"_ Rise's voice rang in their minds.

"Well...many things happened in between them. Though, it seems settled now."

"It's actually nothing. I just understand Minato more than before." Yu chuckled lightly.

"Yeah, through the match," Minato added purposely. He raised a grin when Chie and Yosuke threw a surprised look to the grey-haired boy.

"How can you do that Yu!?"

"Dude, you're cunning!"

Immediately, Chie and Yosuke surrounded their leader and started to interrogate him. Shocking, although Yu tried to explain, the two never listened and kept complaining.

" _Huh? What's wrong? What are they arguing about, Yukiko-senpai?"_ Rise was confused on the other side.

"Well...this is..."

Feeling satisfied, Minato shrugged and continue moving forward.

In his opinion, Yu was a kind and calm guy, and great in sorting the hints of the case. Yet, he was too kind as a human. Minato had a feeling that, this case wasn't as simple as anyone thought. He wondered if Yu could take it in case anything happened.

Of course, Minato would stay by his side until then. He would like to see how far Yu could go. Hopefully, everything would go on smoothly.

* * *

Hello, chapter 7 is up. This time, I use an app to help me to correct the grammar mistakes. Since it is not free, I just use the basic package provided by the app which is free. It may still consist grammar mistakes, but I will try my best to minimize them.

Thank you everyone, especially **GummyDuckie** and **Kuranoir** , and those who reviewed on the last chapter. I 'm now using Google Docs. It makes me very easy that I don't need to sit in front of the computer. Instead, I can write using my phone. Thanks a million!

And then...about this chapter, sorry if it too concentrates on reviewing the story of P3. For now, the story will stick with the original storyline of P4G, but will change in future. Well then, see you again.


	8. Chapter 8

"...So, the victim this time...is your homeroom teacher, huh?"

Minato and Yu gathered in the room, discussing the case. The new victim appeared, and this victim was none than Yu's homeroom teacher, Mr. Morooka, aka King Moron.

The news today reported about the murder of King Moron. This was the third murder of the case, and the police were yet to find any hint related to the culprit.

Because of the murder, Dojima was late again. The police held responsible for not finding the culprit since April. Minato could imagine how stress the police were receiving now.

Gathering at the table, Yu and Minato sat opposite to each other. Minato took out a pen and a piece of paper to draw out the situation of the case.

"...Alright." He put down the pen. "Including your teacher, we have six victims. Five of six are shown in Midnight Channel before missing, and one of them is not following the usual pattern."

Yu stared at the name of King Moron, which was circled with a red color pen. This time, the culprit seemed to give up on his usual rule. King Moron wasn't shown on the Midnight Channel, or neither he went missing. It wasn't same with other cases but probably done by the same person.

"...Everything seems to back to square one."

"...Physically, it is." Minato played the pen on hand, said with a small yawn. "Who knows what's in the culprit's mind."

"At this point, we can't narrow down the next target...if the culprit changing the rule."

With another yawn, Minato leaned on the sofa behind, staring at the ceiling.

"...Let's not talk about the culprit. We're not one. It's useless we keep thinking about that. Besides, we understand the victim more than the culprit." Minato pointed to King Moron's name.

"King Moron?"

"Yeah, this King Moron. Yu, what kind of person he was?" According to the news, King Moron seemed to be a very strict person.

Recalling the first day at school, Yu smiled bitterly.

"...He seemed to have the prejudice against people from the city, especially to me and Yosuke. He even called me a loser on the first day of school." Thinking about that made Yu smiled bitterly. "He was known as a snobbish and judgemental man. However, from my observation, he did offer some heartfelt offer to those who are facing trouble, either in homework or life. I must say...he was a good teacher, although his personality offended some people."

"Offended some people, huh…?" Minato rested his chin on palm, letting out a yawn. "...This could be the reason he is killed, too."

"But his body condition is the same as the previous victims."

"This could be the culprit's intention to confuse us."

"Hmm...you have the point. But how do you explain the changing of method?"

"No idea. That's why I say we better stop trying to figure out the culprit's motive." Minato laid on the table, playing with the pen again. "...Now I'm thinking about it, do you hate this King Moron guy?"

"No, not at all."

Minato stared at Yu for a while and then turned his face away with a small smile.

"...I see. You actually hate him calling you loser."

"W-Why would it appear that way to you!?"

Ignoring the complaining from Yu, Minato shrugged. Sometimes, It was fun picking up on this little kohai.

Anyway, he felt something off about this third case. How should he put this? He didn't feel malevolence behind it, unlike the other cases. This might seem weird to tell the others, so he just kept it for himself. Somehow, he could feel someone was behind everything, and he thought that was the culprit. The malicious was distorted and fierce, but he didn't feel any of these from this case. He knew he shouldn't rely on his feeling all the times, yet he could never neglect it.

Still, he had no new information to proceed further into the case. The same went for the others as well. Although they wanted to investigate more about the case, without any information, they could do nothing.

"Hey Yu, are we going to discuss it tomorrow?"

Yu turned to him as he put down the phone on the table and prepare to hit the bed.

"Perhaps. I will talk to the others tomorrow. Meet you at Junes, then."

"...Alright."

Junes again, huh? Well...that was their headquarter, after all. But...he felt troublesome since they were -

* * *

"Hey, this is mine!"

"Yosuke, one more drink for me!"

"Dude, that's your fifth!"

Minato held the foods on hand, letting out a desperate sigh after seeing the scene before him.

Just exactly what he was worried about.

"...Can you all just get out of Junes?"

"No way!"

"B-But, this is my father's shop…"

"...You're annoying. All you're doing here is aggravating my work now."

"I bet Yosuke is so happy that we spend money in his store." Chie raised a grin, looking at Yosuke.

"N-No, I don't!" With Minato death glare, Yosuke gulped and quickly retorted. Wait, who's the boss here!?

After everyone was done with their orders, they finally had time to discuss the case. As Minato could see, Rise and Teddie were here as well, joining the discussion.

"Oh yeah...what do you guys think about King Moron's case?" Yosuke made the first move by asking everyone. "He didn't show up on the Midnight Channel even once."

"If this person had been inside the TV, I would've sensed it," Teddie said.

"But...it happened on a foggy day again...just the same as the announcer and Saki-senpai."

"But...why Mr. Morooka was targeted?" Yukiko lowered her head, said with sadness.

"Hope it wasn't personal, 'cause there are way too many people who hated King Moron's guts." Although Kanji didn't like King Moron, deep down he never wanted the guy to die.

The same went for the rest of them.

However, just as Rise said, people would hold grudges against someone they didn't know at all. They didn't need any reason to hate someone. It seemed like, not only Yu, they were all good kids.

Minato smiled at the thought and listened to their conversation carefully. Sometimes, he would refill the drinks for the group as he's still on duty. Fortunately, there weren't many customers today. He could take some rest from now on.

The group continued discussing, until -

"Well, we'll do what we can, for King Moron's sake too!" To cheer the group, Chie said. "At this rate, you have to figure that the killer has something to do with the school, right? So, why don't we split up and -"

"That won't be necessary."

-a certain blue-haired boy broke in.

"...You again, huh?" Minato sighed, starting to feel annoyed. He saw Yu raised a brow to him.

Naoto slightly nodded to Minato before saying anything.

"...There is no need to examine the case of Mr. Morooka any further." He said, shocking the group. "Apparently, the police have found a suspect. It would be best to let them handle the case from here."

"A...suspect!? Who is it!?"

"As to his name, I haven't been informed. I do know...that he is a high schooler." Naoto tried to keep his voice down. "It isn't public knowledge yet, but he isn't a student of your high school. It seems they are quite confident that this boy is the killer. I expect it's only a matter of time before he is apprehended. Soon, this case will be solved, and your town will once again be its peaceful, rustic self."

"The suspect...is the high schooler…?"

Minato narrowed his eyes at that.

"...That is impossible."

"...Pardon?" Naoto turned his head to Minato, face shocked.

"I say that is impossible the so-called high schooler is the killer." Minato always believed that this is done by something beyond their imagination. A high schooler such as themselves could never plan on this without help.

"...Why are you saying so?"

"Naoto, I don't know how the boy left testimonies in the third case, but referring to the previous cases, even he could kidnap someone like Kanji, why there's no witness and testimony? Could this be a coincidence that he did it without leaving any trace?"

"... …"

"And now he was leaving testimonies? This is ridiculous."

A hint of furious went across Naoto's face. He pulled down the edge of his hat, lowering his head.

"...Then, what about you? In that case, you are one of the highest potential killers, Makoto Yuki-san...or should I call you Minato Arisato-san?"

This immediately alerted the group, especially Yu. He was the first person who stood up from the seat.

"...Where do you get this name?" Yu asked, brows twisted.

"...From the investigation, of course." Naoto sighed, straightened his posture. "After meeting Makoto-san, I investigated his background. I looked for the people missing report from all the regions in Japan, there's no one named Makoto Yuki. By some chances, I got the database from hospitals, and found a dead person named Minato Arisato, who appeared to be the same face as Makoto-san."

"... ..."

"To my curious, I did some research on this Minato Arisato. He was a second-year student at Gekkoukan High School who died on March 5th, 2011 with unknown causes, and his profile matches with the hospital's." Naoto shot Minato a glare. "...If you are truly Makoto Yuki, I would like to know who are you. However, if you are Minato Arisato, then what are you?"

Minato remained silence for a while. Yu and the others were looking at him with worries. Damn this detective...how much else had he know about him?

But it was useless to angry over that matter. Minato sighed, blowing his bang.

"...I'll have to say, brilliant." He shrugged. "Well, I don't think I can hide it forever."

"...You don't deny it?" Naoto raised a cold smile and looked at the others. "I don't know...but are you going to continue believing in him?"

He looked to Yu, who returned a firm nod a moment later.

"...I believe in Minato. We all believe in him. Minato could never be the one behind everything."

The fights they had gone through were the proof Minato was an ally. Even nobody believed in Minato, the Investigation Team would stand with him.

Seeing Yu's firm answer, for a moment, Naoto seemed to shake. Perhaps he didn't expect the team would deny him so easily. Letting out a sigh, he turned to his back.

"...Anyway, your game is soon over."

"...A game?" The one speaking was Rise. Her face was clearly wrapped up in anger. "Aren't you the one who thinks of this as a game?"

"...!?"

"I don't care if you're a special investigator or an amateur sleuth...all you're doing is solving mysteries. What could you possibly know about us? Who gave you the right to investigate someone's background? You're the who's playing a game here."

"One of the victims...she meant a lot to me. How could I possibly treat this like a game?" Yosuke didn't keep silent this time. He retorted after Rise. "Plus...we made a promise."

"Yeah, that's right." Yu chuckled lightly, looking at Teddie.

"Y-Y-Yosuke...sensei…!"

Remaining shock for a while, Naoto let out a sigh. Seeing his bitter smile, Minato felt sorry for him. Unlike him, Naoto had no one to brace him behind.

"...A game...that may be quite true."

"Oh...did they get rid of you now that they have their man? Is that why you came here? You were lonely?"

But Naoto ignored Yosuke's teasing. He simply shrugged and smiled.

"Detectives normally aren't involved with arrest. And we never harbor any special emotions regarding a case, either. Still…" Naoto lowered his head, looked depressed for a moment. "It is rather unfortunate that people are only attentive so long as our services are required...but then, I'm accustomed to it."

Minato could see the boy was trying to show he was alright, but who knew? Perhaps the depressed tone he sounded a moment ago was his true feeling.

"Well then, I'll be going now."

Minato watched the boy went off. His small and fragile feature reflected in his eyes all the times since then.

* * *

Yu and the others were busy facing the exam. It reminded Minato a lot of his old days in Gekkoukan High. At night, whenever Yu needed help in his study, he would lend his hand. It was a way to reminisce his past, too.

Putting his earphone on, Minato walked leisurely on the road. He was on the way home after a long day work. The MP3 was playing his most favorite song. It's been a long time since he felt so comfortable.

Naoto's fragile feature was still shown under his eyelids. Although the boy was trying to hide his depression, Minato could still see his struggle. He couldn't help but sigh.

Just as he walked passed the embankment -

"Could I have a minute?"

\- A familiar voice stopped his pace, and a certain familiar blue color appeared in front of him.

Talked about devil…

"...What do you want?" Minato shut the MP3 and pulled off the earphone.

"...Could we talk in a more comfortable place?" Naoto pointed to the seat not far from them.

Shrugging, Minato followed behind Naoto.

"What do you want to talk about?"

Naoto scratched his cheek, seemed somewhat embarrassed.

"...I want to apologize."

"Huh?" Minato almost dropped his MP3. He looked to Naoto with wide eyes.

"...Although it's for the case, investigated your background without permission still make me feel uneasy. I want to apologize for that. And...I shouldn't let out my anger on you. This uneasy feeling settles in me since then...so, I want to say I'm sorry." Was it his illusion? Naoto's face seemed so red.

"...It's alright."

"...Thanks." Naoto let out a sigh, relaxing . It seemed he was worried if Minato refused to forgive him. "...Anyway, what should I call you?"

Since he already did so many research on him, it should be alright. Minato didn't think Naoto would tell Dojima about this.

"...It would be best to call me Makoto when outsiders are around." To him, of course, Minato was better. But to tell the truth, he didn't mind.

"Well then, Minato-san, do you really think the high schooler isn't the real culprit?"

Minato looked into the boy's eyes.

"...Do you think so?"

"I think everyone hopes this will end soon, so...yes." Naoto averted his gaze, didn't sound confident at all, but Minato simply ignored it for now. "The police wanted to close this case as soon as possible. You know...it is difficult to work under pressure."

"...I understand that." Minato nodded. "However...from my experience, things are not the same as we see. Things can be more complicated than we expected."

Naoto stared blankly at Minato's face for a while. He had no idea what the blue-haired boy had been through, but he sounded so firmly that Minato wasn't trying to convince him. He was simply telling the truth. However, the police hadn't arrested the suspect. Naoto couldn't judge base on the current situation.

It's shame, but Yosuke was right. Since the police had found the suspect, his service wasn't needed anymore. Yet...part of him still remained doubt towards the case and suspect.

"...Anyway, it's useless to say this now. We should leave it to the police from now on." Sighing, Naoto stood up from the bench.

"...Where are you living? I'll accompany you." Minato stood up as well, walking ahead of Naoto.

"H-Huh?" Naoto blinked for a while, and then face reddened. "N-No, it's o-okay. I can g-go back by myself…"

"Come on, we're going."

Completely ignoring Naoto's protest, Minato turned to his back. He stared at Naoto until the boy losing the will to protest.

Well...it's surprisingly easy to pick on him if knowing which button to push. Minato let out a smile.

"...Are you seeing me as a child?"

"No, should I?" Minato gave him a glance. "...Just the way I do for my kohai, that's it."

Naoto slightly pouted, silently following behind Minato without further protesting.

"...You're weird." Naoto murmured under his breath.

"Am I? Well, maybe." Minato shrugged. He didn't mind being called as a weirdo. He was being called that all the times in his life.

They walked without talking further. The air filled with awkward, at least to Naoto, he felt uncomfortable. Would it be better to start a topic first? Ermm...actually, he didn't use casual chatting.

"...Mind if I ask? You're supposed to be dead…"

Oops...he accidentally voiced out his deepest question to the blue-haired boy.

"Yes, I'm dead," Minato answered him without hesitation, which shocked Naoto for a while. "Temporary alive now."

Naoto shot Minato a suspicious glare.

What did he mean? Gosh...he was sure a weirdo. He didn't understand him. Perhaps he could never understand what's in his mind. Letting out a sigh, Naoto treated it as a stupid excuse that Minato refused to tell him the truth.

"...Sorry I shouldn't have brought it up."

"It's alright. It's true I am dead two years ago." Minato took a quick glance at the boy, who returned a questioning look once again. "Just as I told you, don't judge a book by its look. Things can be more complicated than you ever imagine."

This again? This Minato Arisato...or Makoto Yuki was sure full of mystery. For a moment, Naoto wanted to investigate everything about him. He ignited his detective spirit.

But he shouldn't. Naoto pressed down the feeling and sigh. He was a detective, and he should never investigate anyone because of his curiosity.

"...Alright. I won't ask it again." Naoto sighed, but the next second he almost bumped into Minato's back. "W-What's wrong…?"

Naoto rubbed his nose and asked. Then, he found an ashen complexion boy was standing at the riverbank. Frowning, Naoto felt uncomfortable with him. He could see Minato was feeling the same, as he was having an unpleasant face, too.

They couldn't see him clearly, but the boy looked too gloomy in his age. From his look, he was tired and world-weary. No emotion resided in his eyes as if he's been abandoned by the world.

"...Who is that?" Naoto asked.

"No idea." Minato shrugged. He stopped his pace simply because a strange feeling struck him a moment ago.

It's late. It didn't seem normal to have a high-schooler wondered around at a time like this.

"I'll go and warn him." Before Naoto went off, Minato grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"...I think we should just leave him be." Feeling something off, however, he couldn't explain it. Minato shook his head to the detective boy.

"But…" Naoto felt uneasy even just a stare at the gloomy boy, but his responsibility went above the feeling. "I'll simply just warn him for safety."

Minato watched Naoto ran off to the gloomy boy. Such a kind person he was, Minato thought inwardly.

Somehow, looking at the gloomy boy, Minato had a feeling that he was looking at himself, the one before transferring back to Iwatodai. He looked so pathetic, seemed struggled throughout his life.

Sighing as Naoto walked back to him, telling Minato to go. Taking a last glance at the gloomy boy, Minato scratched his head and followed Naoto.

* * *

It's been quite sometimes after Naoto mentioned about the high-schooler suspect. The police were yet declared they caught the suspect, and the team was so busy with the midterm exam.

Without new information, even Minato wanted to something about this, he could do nothing. The hints they had no hand were so limited they could grasp the situation. They couldn't even know who was the so-called suspect, yet the image of the gloomy boy remained in his mind.

He wouldn't be surprised if the gloomy boy was the so-called suspect. Somewhere in his heart, he felt that way.

After taking the bath, Minato went straight back to the room.

Yu was reading a book purchased recently. When he saw Minato entered the room, he closed the book and checked on the time.

"It's almost time to check on the Midnight TV." Yu stood up from the seat and moved to the front of the TV.

"It becomes a routine work now." Smiling, Minato stood near to Yu. "Yu, do you believe the high-schooler is the culprit behind everything?"

Minato wanted to ask this for long. He wanted to know how the silver-haired boy thought about it.

"Honestly, I don't know." Yu shook his head. "It may appear impossible for first, but when you see high-schoolers such like us obtain the power of persona and fight inside that world, it could be possible, and I assume the culprit could be a persona user too."

"Well, you have the point. However, even high-schoolers like us can fight inside that world with the power of persona, one person could never achieve that." Minato shrugged. "Hey, it's coming up."

The TV started to show some images. It was blurred at first but turned extremely vivid at the end.

"He is…"

There was a boy with black messy hair and gloomy dead fish eyes appeared on the screen. Minato widened his eyes in shock when he recognized the boy.

Damn it...wasn't he the one standing on the riverbank a few days before? Although it was dark, Minato confirmed that person was this gloomy boy.

" _You all think you can see me? You all think you know everything about me?"_ The boy said with an emotionless voice. _"Then try and catch me."_

The image died out a few second later, returned to a normal black screen.

"What's wrong, Minato?" Yu asked. "You know him?"

"...Not really. However, I met him few days before, at the riverbank."

Facepalming, Minato let out a sigh.

* * *

Hello, I'm back. Sorry for the late update. I've been busy handled the sudden stress that struck me a week ago and became emotionally unstable. Anyway, don't worry about it. I tell myself I can handle it, and I am sure I can take it.

The update may delay from now on, but I will try to write it whenever I have time. See you!


	9. Chapter 9

Early in the morning, the Investigation Team held a meeting at Junes Food Court to discuss the matter of the boy appeared on the Midnight Channel.

"That's the suspect we've been told, right?" Chie said.

"Well...he is a high-schooler, and police were after him for the murder of King Moron." Yosuke crossed his arm in front of the chest, saying. "So to see that on TV last night, at the time like this…"

He sighed, trying to explain the assumption in his head to his friend. Minato listened to it while taking a sip of his drinks.

Today was his rest day, and he was supposed to sleep all day. Yet, he was out here because of the certain boy. Thinking about this, he couldn't help but sigh. He was damn tired…

"So...you're saying he went into the other world to dodge the cops? Wow, senpai, you're smarter than you look!"

"Well Kanji, you can piss me off sometimes." Yosuke frowned, rubbing his hair and sighed.

"We still don't know why he targeted people who were shown on the TV. But if he had a personal grudge against Mr. Morooka, that explains one thing." Yukiko pointed out the flaw in Yosuke's assumption. "With a strong enough motive, wouldn't he forsake the untraceable TV method and try to kill Mr. Morooka on his own? If you think about it that way, it sort of makes sense why Mr. Morooka died without appearing on the TV."

This was a strong point. Minato saw Yosuke scratched his head, and Yu was pondering. At some point, Yosuke's assumption was nothing wrong. In fact, Minato would say he was almost correct if the gloomy boy was the culprit. However, Yukiko's point was sharp and strong as well.

Both of them could be correct...Minato lowered his head.

"But I wonder what that boy's going to do, now that he's in there…" Yukiko let out a sigh, looked worried. "With Teddie on this side, there's no way for him to get out."

"Nah, I don't think so." Yosuke shook his head, disagreeing. "I can see missing Yukiko and Kanji, but Rise a celebrity...there's no way the killer wouldn't know she's still alive. That means he knows there's a way out of the TV World."

Yu listened to their conversation, shifting his gaze to the blue-haired boy who was sitting beside him.

"So...what do you think about this?" He asked. "Do you still not think the boy is the culprit?"

Minato would say he agreed to Yosuke's assumption, in the case that the gloomy boy was the culprit. However, up until now, Minato wasn't completely convinced by it. He believed in his point far more than that.

Seeing the gloomy boy was as if seeing himself in the past. Minato felt something was clutching his throat and heart, and he had difficulty in breathing.

"...I don't think this skinny boy could kidnap Kanji." Minato stared at Kanji, grimacing.

"H-Huh!?"

"Even if he could, I doubt one person could do that. In other words, if he is the culprit, he is not only one of them." After saying, Minato immediately let out a yawn. He rubbed his eyes and saw Yu pondered again.

"Hmm...Minato has his point." Chie looked at Kanji. "Let aside Yukiko, Kanji is...um, too bold to kidnap, I think?"

"W-What do you mean by that, Chie-senpai?" The punk-like guy became frustrated with the sight of the others, to which Minato let out a small chuckle.

"...Even he is a persona user, there's no way to do that alone, huh?" Yu said timidly, but it was clearly heard by the others.

"Well, if he can get through into TV, he must be a persona user." Shrugging, Minato was sure of it, and it was agreeing by Yu as well.

"So...the rest, we'll just have asked him face to face, right?" Yosuke smirked.

Around the same time, Rise was back. She panted for air, seemed running all the way here.

"Phew...sorry guys here got some problem." She let out a long sigh, finally regained her breath. "There's not enough information to go on...but at least we're positive someone's in there."

"Alright, we'll just do our things here."

"Yeah...if he really is the killer and he's escaped into the other world, the police don't have a chance of catching him," Chie said with a pissed off face.

"So it's all on us!" Kanji was fired up.

"Well then, let's get digging!"

With a nod, they all set out to find information that would lead to the boy.

* * *

After separating with the team, Minato walked around to gather information about the gloomy boy. But, where should he start? He could see the other members were asking all around on his way, yet they didn't seem to find anything useful.

Sighing, he went to buy some snacks to treat his growling stomach. He walked all day but without any reward...he kind of wanted to ask himself, what the hell he was doing now?

Nobody seemed to see the gloomy boy before. Well, this was expected. Minato has experienced the same things in the past. No one really saw him, even he was right in front of them. They only made jokes on him or kept a distance away from him since the time he's been called as a weirdo.

Anyway, that's all he wanted back then. He didn't like to stand out since people only focused on his tragic past rather than him. He felt comfortable to stay away from the crowd. However…

Minato looked up at the sky, letting out a sigh.

The gloomy boy was probably the opposite.

He wanted to be recognized. He wanted to be seen by people. He wanted to be agreed by the others. He wanted everyone to look at him.

They were totally different.

Minato couldn't rule out the possibility of the boy as the culprit. Yet, he didn't agree to see him as the only culprit. Argh...headache. What had he dragged himself into?

He walked around again, not knowing where he could get the hints of the boy. Should he just go ahead and ask Dojima? Nah...that wouldn't work. Dojima was a serious man. Minato didn't think he would leak any information about the boy.

"Hmm?"

Out of blue, he saw a familiar figure. The girl...she seemed like the one from Velvet Room. What's her name again…?

"Hey."

Marie jumped up from the shock. She turned and glared at the blue-haired boy who was standing beside her like nothing happened.

"This is not funny!"

"I wasn't making fun of you." Minato stared at Junes entrance. He could see the scene through the glasses. "Wanna eat?"

He passed her an ice-cream bought on the way. Seeing the ice-cream, Marie shot him a death glare and pouted.

"...I'm not a kid."

"It doesn't matter you're a kid or not, I just bought an extra one."

Would somebody buy an extra ice-cream unintentionally? Marie remained silent, still taking the ice-cream.

"...Weird."

"I never say I'm normal."

Marie's brows twitched. Was he trying to start a quarrel? She cursed under her breath, feeling she had no way to understand this boy.

It was such an unexpected meeting with this boy under such condition. He was completely the contrast of the girl in the Velvet Room. The girl was noisy and energetic, but the boy was obviously lazy and less enthusiasm. She wondered how the both of them became so intimated.

From the conversation, Marie knew they were the counterpart for each other, but that didn't seem to be the only reason they attached to each other so much. They...looked like the real couple.

"Hey, you okay?" Seeing Marie remained silent, Minato felt a little bit worried.

Was he going too hard on her?

"N-No, it's nothing." Her face burned. To avoid being found out, she quickly turned her face away from Minato.

Letting out a small sigh, Minato assured the girl was alright and moved his gaze back to the Junes entrance.

"Your name...Marie, right?"

"Y-Yeah….what is it?" Marie lowered her head, taking a bite of the ice-cream.

"Do you like Yu?"

Immediately, Marie choked. She had difficulty to restrain the urge to cough and almost coughed out her lungs.

"W-W-W-W-W-W-W-W-WHAT ARE YOU SAYING!?" Marie's face turned to tomato red, looked as if could to explode at any time.

"...I'm asking if you like Yu." Intentionally, Minato repeated once again, and this made the girl flustered more. "...No?"

"I…!" Intellectually, Marie wanted to say 'No', but her feeling to the gray-haired boy stopped her from saying so. "I am not…" At last, her voice trailed off.

"That means you like him. I see, good." While holding the laughter, Minato nodded. "Is that the reason you're here?"

Minato pointed to the Junes entrance. Through the glasses, they could see Yu was talking to Tohru Adachi. He had no idea what the boy was trying to do, anyway, he believed Yu could dig out some information from Adachi.

"N-No! That's not it!" Marie huffed, starting to bite her fingers. "I'm just...feeling curious over the guy."

"You mean...Adachi?" Minato raised his brow. "He's simply an assistant...what are you so curious about?"

Staring at Adachi, Marie frowned. She didn't know how should she explain this, but definitely not something good.

"I...don't know. I just feel uncomfortable with him."

This was quite a surprise to Minato. He never expected someone would feel the same as him.

"...Can you explain more detail on this uncomfortable feeling?"

"...Disgust...distorted...hatred...darkness, maybe?" Marie tilted her head, trying her best to think of any words that could explain her feeling. "Argh...a-anyway, it is a nasty feeling!"

"Okay, I got you now." Minato nodded. It was almost the same feeling as his.

"Hey...do you think it's dangerous if that jerk gets too close to that guy?" Staring at Yu, Marie felt worried. Not to mention her feeling, as a friend, she thought it was normal to worry. "You're his friend...can you do something about this?"

Raising a brow, Minato took a weird glance at Marie. What she thought he was?

This was Yu's personal social life. There's no right for Minato to get involved with Yu's life. To think he would leave this world one day, Minato couldn't bear doing this to Yu.

"...What about you? You're his friend, too. You can do it yourself."

Marie shifted her gaze to elsewhere, biting her fingers again.

"...I can't. When I notice it, they have become close friends. You know...that jerk isn't the type to leave his friend even somebody tries to dissuade him. I...I can't do anything." She bit her bottom lip, looked sad. "But you're different! He trusts you a lot. I believe he will listen to you!"

Looking at Marie's almost-cried-out face, Minato couldn't help but let out a sigh.

"I can't."

"Why!? You don't want to help him!?" She cried out.

Minato rubbed his hair. Her voice was so high-pitch that could start a headache on him.

"...The reason is the same as you. I don't think he will listen to me, and I don't want to ruin our relationship once again." Who knew how tough it was the last time? He sighed again. "More importantly...from my observation, Adachi should be one of the bonds of Yu."

He could hear a gasp from the girl. Ignoring her, Minato continued.

"In that case, Yu has the responsibility to figure out the true nature of Adachi. See through it, and act on it, that's his role. We can provide help, but that's it."

Marie didn't seem to convince as she clenched her fist so tight. She bit her bottom lip, looking at Minato with tears in her eyes, but that wouldn't change his decision.

"...Come on, have faith in Yu. Do you think he's someone that will get down so easily?"

"...I know." Her voice was so timid.

Minato could see she was trying her best to restrain the urge to punch him on the face. He took a step backward, pulling some distance with her.

"Hey, what are you guys doing here?" By the time Minato and Marie glared at each other, Yu walked out from Junes. He greeted them but immediately regretted. "Hmm...what's wrong?"

"...No, it's nothing." Remaining her glaring for a while, Marie turned her face away with a curse.

At least she knew what's most important to Yu, Minato thought inwardly and let out a yawn. He made a signal with Marie, telling her the conversation just now was the secret between them, and the girl nodded.

"Yu, did you find any hint regarding the boy?" Minato changed the subject.

"Adachi-san told me the boy was doing the part-time job in Shopping District. I think we can find our luck there."

"Alright, then I'll go with you."

Marie decided to go back to the Velvet Room. Before she went off, Minato passed her some bags with snacks filled inside.

"What are these?" Marie asked.

"Pass them to Hamuko, and tell her I'll visit next time." Waving his hand, Minato chased after Yu and left Marie alone.

"H-Hey!"

* * *

They managed to find the hint regarding the boy and got to his dungeon in the TV World on the next day. His place represented the old style game as if the boy himself treated everything as a game, including the murder cases.

That pissed everyone off, especially the girls. After they came back from the first exploring, they kept grumbling about how bad they felt in that dungeon.

Minato didn't feel good when exploring that place. It was distorted. He wouldn't say disgusting because part of the boy could be the same as the rest of the people. None of the people wanted to be left out. The boy simply hungers to be recognized more than the others.

...Anyway, it was unpleasant to feel so directly to that kind of hunger feeling.

He sighed. Yu turned his head to Minato, stopped from reading the book.

"What's wrong? Something bothers you?"

"...No, just tired from the exploration and the grumbling from the girls."

Yu chuckled bitterly. Since Minato claimed Mitsuo Kubo wasn't the only culprit, the girls kept complaining about this and aimed it at Minato, consciously or unconsciously.

"...It's tough, but…"

"I understand that. You don't have to tell me." Minato rubbed his hair. The further they went into the dungeon, the more they believed Mitsuo Kubo was the killer. While Yukiko and Rise were the victims in the case, he knew full well how they felt. "Still, it won't change my thought on this boy."

"You're stubborn as well." Yu closed the book on hand. He now didn't have the mood to read it.

"Anyway, that won't change our objective. We still have to confront him face to face, and Hamuko thinks the same as mine." Minato stretched his body, turning off the TV.

"Hamuko-san?" Yu asked. "Did you visit her today?"

"Yeah...early in the morning." Minato yawned again. "If I don't, I guess you won't be able to see me again."

Yu chuckled, nodding along. That would probably happen.

Sighing, Minato laid down on the sofa.

"By the way...you seem very close to Adachi-san."

Yu raised a brow.

"...Well, sort of. He's pretty nice when you get to know him more."

Pretty nice, huh? Minato mumbled in his heart.

"Is he one of your social links?"

"You can see that?" Yu was surprised. "It's rare to see you talk about Adachi-san. You...don't seem too comfortable around Adachi-san."

That was unexpected coming from Yu. Minato gave Yu a shock glance, lifting a bitter smile.

"...You can see that?"

"I accidentally found it on the day we met at Junes entrance. While I was talking to Adachi-san, both you and Marie were having an uncomfortable gaze toward Adachi-san."

Minato thought he could keep it between Marie, but...this was really surprising. Sometimes, Yu's insight was scary and precisely. Sighing, Minato shrugged and leaned against the back of the sofa.

"You don't have to take care of our feelings. That's your social life, we understand it." He lifted his head. "So, what do you think about Adachi-san?"

"He's quite a nice person. You'll probably see him as a slacker, but he only needs people to talk to him. He seems to face some difficulties in his life. Whenever we're together, he will share some of his stories with me." Thinking about that, Yu raised a smile. "Overall, I think I can trust him."

"... …"

Minato remained silence for a while. It was expected to come from Yu. Unlike Minato, Yu thought this guy was good and simply lonely. But in Minato's case, Adachi was dangerous. Although he didn't know the reason why he became so sensitive toward this kind of thing, he knew he couldn't trust Adachi.

How should he put it…?

A face went across Minato's mind, and he suddenly realized the reason behind.

He knew it…

"Well...I won't say a word about this guy." Minato smiled. "...Yu, you must remember the meaning of bounding by social links. As the one, you bear the responsibility to see through a person's true nature and understand the person. I believe you can manage it well."

Yu winked, having no idea the reason inside Minato's words. Seeing that, Minato simply raised a smile and shrugged.

He would come to understand it one day...perhaps the day shouldn't be far off. That's his ordeal, the responsibility which Yu must bear.

* * *

~ Omake ~

"...What are you doing, Hamuko?"

Minato rubbed his nose bridge, trying to ignore the pain on his face.

"...I'm biting you."

"...Are you too hungry? My face isn't tasty at all."

Hamuko gave him a punch on the face, again she bit his arm.

"...Where are you going yesterday? Marie-chan brought a bag of snack, but you're nowhere to be seen!"

"...I got something need to handle immediately. When everything is done, the day went dark." Minato tried to explain. "...By the way, do you really want to talk in front of everyone?"

The others, including Igor, Margaret and Marie were sitting in the position facing them. In other words, their conversation and action were clearly seen by them.

"Why? Are you feeling embarrassed?" Tilting her head, Hamuko asked.

Yeah...there's no way he didn't feel embarrassed at all. Their eyes were locked on them!

Hamuko huffed, finally letting go of her mouth and sitting beside him. Judging from her face, she was mad...Minato thought it was a wise decision to pay her a visit today.

"I'm sorry...but I really have some important things to take care of."

He saw Hamuko raised her brow as if asking him: what else could be more important than her. He sighed. Honestly, sometimes he felt it was trouble to face his counterpart, yet he could never let go of her.

"It's regarding the boy named Mitsuo Kubo…"

He explained everything to the girl, with a few nodding as a response.

"I see...so that's what happened on the other side." Hamuko lowered her head, pondering.

"Personally, I don't think the Mitsuo Kubo is the culprit. He doesn't seem to be the type to plan."

"I don't know who is this Mitsuo Kubo...but from your explanation, I have the same opinion as yours." Hamuko crossed her arms. "If he is capable to escape into the TV World, he must be a persona user, as from your information, without the power of persona, one cannot enter that world, right?"

"Yes...I heard it from Yu, and he is the first to get the power of persona before realizing it."

"And don't forget, we still have the mystery black woman to deal with. I bet she has something to do with this." It seemed the black woman pissed her off again. Too bad Minato couldn't remember it.

Igor and Margaret completely ignored their discussion and simply closing their eyes, while Marie was looking to the other side, losing the interest to hear the rest of it.

Letting out a yawn, Minato rubbed his eyes and stretched his body. Seeing that, Hamuko smiled. It was enough that the boy came to see her in the early of the morning. She knew he was never a morning person. This must be tough for him.

Thinking that she leaned closer to him and left a kiss on his cheek.

"Well...I guess you should probably go back."

"...No flame?"

She giggled.

"You better come to see me often, okay?" This time, she opened her arms and brought him closer. "You manage to summon Thanatos, right? I feel a surge of energy."

"...That's good."

"I'll be alright. Don't worry about me."

* * *

Alright, here is the chapter 9.

A little omake at the end of the story, since Hamuko has been left out for sometimes, I decided to make her show up for a while.


	10. Chapter 10

The fireworks spread out like thousand flowers in the sky, lighting up with its beauty. It looked like the stars in the sky, yet disappeared within a few seconds.

Minato stared at the fireworks, letting out a sigh.

Actually, he was still shocked by the fact.

The boy, Mitsuo Kubo admitted that he was the one behind the serial murder case.

They managed to get to him in the TV World, inside his personal dungeon. He said he was the one who killed all the victims. Yet, he wasn't a persona user. They had to go through a tough fight with his shadow.

Minato always assumed the culprit was persona user, and he believed it. If Mitsuo Kubo possessed the ability to summon a persona, there's no doubt he was the culprit. However, the fact overturned everything.

Mitsuo Kubo wasn't persona user. He didn't have the ability to enter TV World. In this case, there must be someone else behind all this. Mitsuo Kubo was simply used to distract them.

And the worst was, the other team members seemed to believe Mitsuo Kubo was the killer. Well...what he said really pissed everyone off, and nothing seemed to happen in the past two weeks, that's the fact.

However...he felt deja vu.

It was similar to the feeling when they thought Dark Hour was ended. However, they were betrayed right after that.

It made Minato thought about Ikutsuki. Adachi was a lot similar to Ikutsuki. He had a very strong feeling that Adachi had something to do with the serial murder case. Even he wasn't the culprit, he could have another role to play with.

Okay...right now, he would let it be. For now, should he enjoy this moment? He let out a bitter smile. He wanted to, but...perhaps he couldn't. He still had a lot to take care of, yet he had no idea where he could find the lead.

"What are you sighing at?"

Yu stood beside him, asking. His grey eyes seemed to see through everything.

"...I sigh at the beauty of the fireworks."

"Is that all?"

"...Too bad Hamuko isn't here to enjoy it with me."

"Oh? It doesn't to be that matter to me."

"... …"

Minato twitched his brows. He looked at Yu, the boy simply gave him an innocent smile.

"Is it about Mitsuo Kubo?" Yu said. "You're still doubting whether he is the real culprit, right?"

Well, straight to the point. He looked at Yu, nodded.

"...Without the power of summoning persona, one can't enter into TV World. From the battle with Mitsuo Kubo, we clearly know that he isn't a persona user. His shadow self even disappeared before our eyes." Minato once again looked up to the sky. "If so, how could he throw people into the TV World?"

Yu crossed his arms, pondering.

"...I know what you're trying to say. However, that's just an assumption. We don't know is that correct or not." Yu looked down to his hand. "Like me...I don't have the power of summoning persona at first, but I can enter into TV World. Maybe there's an exception?"

Minato frowned lightly.

Was that really the matter?

He shrugged and sighed again. "...Whatever. Sorry but I don't mean to ruin your mood. You just need to live and enjoy the life you're having now."

"Minato…"

"But I can't. I still haven't figured the reason I am here. There's no leading how I can return to the seal."

Yu obviously stunned. He lowered his head, hesitating for a while before speaking.

"...Is there a way to hold the seal so you and Hamuko-san can stay here?"

It was shocking came from Yu. Minato widened his eyes, and Yu looked away from him.

Minato could feel warm was building inside him. He smiled. It felt nice to have someone that would care for him.

"I appreciate that, but unfortunately, there's no such a way to hold the seal." From the hill, Minato could see the whole Yasoinaba. It was such a beautiful scene. "If we don't return to the seal, things happened two years ago may repeat. We have to prevent that at all cost. Don't worry about me and Hamuko. "We'll be fine. Even we may not see each other again, the memories will always be there."

Yu stared at him, nodded. He looked at his friends and family, knowing one day he would leave them and go back to the city as well. However, the bonds they made wouldn't disappear.

"Then Minato, you should lift your burden and enjoy it, for now," Yu said, with a wide smile.

"...Alright."

Minato shrugged, joining the team as Yu dragged him.

* * *

Minato couldn't believe he was here in Tatsumi Port Island.

Once again, he came back to this fateful place. He panted for air, clenching his fist tightly and glared at the bear.

"Teddie!"

A certain bear hid behind Yu, trembling in fear. He never saw the cool guy Minato went mad, and the target was no other than himself.

"Uhmm...Teddie, I think you should explain this to us." Yu stood between Minato and Teddie, trying to calm the blue-haired boy. "Why are you and Minato here?"

"I-I can't help, sensei! The lonely bear inside of me went stir crazy!"

"Grr...if only I can detect people in the real world …" Rise sighed, rubbing her nose bridge.

"H-How did you guys get here?"

"Eh, I took the train. I knew where you were going thanks to Yosuke's 'Trip Guide' and Minato's instruction."

"Damn, do I ever have a choice!?" Minato growled. "You dragged me here right after I was about to go home!"

"I'm sorry, but aren't you feel lonely as I am? I was just trying to help!"

"You're the one who feels lonely."

Yu let out a sigh. Teddie used him as a barrier to starting a quarrel with Minato. He put a hand on Teddie's head and squeezed. As expected, Teddie let out a squeak.

"...Be quiet, Teddie." He pulled the bear out and looked at the mad blue-haired boy. "Since you're here, do you want to come with us?"

Since Tatsumi Port Island as Minato's hometown, Yu had invited him to come along. He even asked Yosuke to arrange some holiday for him, but Minato rejected the offer.

He said it wasn't convenient to walk around as he was dead in other people's knowledge.

"...I guess I have no choice." This time, Minato couldn't refuse. He cursed under his breath.

Around the same time, Ms. Kashiwagi walked out from the hotel. She crossed her arms, looked unhappy.

"Now now, you kids aren't bickering about your room allocation, are you?"

"Oh crap…!"

"What's the matter? Oh, my…" Ms. Kashiwagi found out about Teddie. "What's this giant teddy bear?"

"Ermm...it's a bear-shape backpack, I guess…?" Yu wasn't sure if this could convince the woman or not. Even he felt this was such a joke.

By the way, why did Minato hide behind him?

"I see you like cute things…" Ms. Kashiwagi chuckled. "Alright, hurry on and inside with it. By the way, these rooms are amazing. Every room has waterbed! But don't flip the wrong switch when you're turning on the lights, or your bed will start spinning."

Yu could hear a sigh escaped out of Minato's mouth.

When everyone moved into the hotel, Minato patted his shoulder.

"...Anyway Yu, it is your turn to tell Nanako-chan and Dojima-san about my arrival here. Make up an excuse. I'm too damn tired." Then, he glared at Teddie. "...I'll make sure you pay for this, Teddie."

"Eeeekkkkk!"

Rubbing his hair, Yu started to have a feeling that he wanted to punch Teddie in the face. Regardless, he still carried the bear into his room.

Later, in the room…

"Whoooooaaaaaaa!"

"Which switch did you flip, you stupid bear!?"

"Waaaahhhhh!"

Yosuke, Kanji, and Teddie struggled to get from the spinning waterbed, but their effort went in vain. Minato and Yu sat on the couch opposite them, laughing out loud.

"T-This one?"

Unable to see which switch to flip, the waterbed spun faster than before.

"I'm gonna dieeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

"S-Stop this!"

"I-I can't take this anymore…" Holding his stomach, Minato turned his head away from the scene.

After some strive, they managed to stop the waterbed. The three guys almost passed out. They groaned in pain, and not forgot to give Teddie a punch.

"You're not going to touch any of this switch, never again!"

"Y-Yes sir!"

"Hey Minato...since you lived in Iwatodai, did you ever come here?" Yosuke asked, still lying on the bed. Some star spun on top of his head. While he asked, the poor guy Kanji already rushed his way to the toilet.

"...I did come here once, for a mission."

"Mission?"

"A mission to eliminate the giant shadow."

"I want to hear the story!"

"Nah, no way." Minato gave them a deadpan look. "It only brings up the bitter memories. No way."

It made him thought about the slap from Yukari. By that time, he didn't see anything. When he came to his sense, all he saw was the palm of the girl, and then he felt the pain on his cheek.

"Oww...come on!"

Twitching his brows, Minato crossed his arms and sighed.

"...Will you feel happy to be slapped in the face?"

Upon hearing that, Yosuke's smile died out. It seemed to be a story behind it. Guessed it would be best to shut up.

"Speaking of which, there are people who know you, right? There's no way for you to wondering out at the street like this." Yu asked, saving Yosuke from embarrassment

"...You're right." Pondering for while, Minato took out his phone and sent a message. Then, he lifted his head to Teddie. "Teddie, do you have spare glasses? Normal glasses is fine."

"I do remember I have some spare glasses...Oh yes, here it is!" Teddie searched in his Teddie suit and took out a god-know-where-it-store glasses.

"This is nice." Minato smiled and showed the glasses to Yu. "I think this should do."

* * *

Minato knew he was looking striking on the street. To avoid being recognized by people he knew, he tied his hair up, revealing his right eyes and putting a glasses on. Before going out, he made sure he looked different than his usual self, and the result was satisfying. Yu and the others barely recognized him.

The Investigation Team followed the schedule and headed to Gekkoukan High to start their so-called school trip. Somehow, he sympathized them. His Kyoto trip was way too better than this.

First, he came to Iwatodai dorm, the dorm he lived two years ago. This was the headquarter of SEES. The door was locked. According to the people nearby, it seemed to be shut down since last year. It saddened him for a while, but he guessed this was the best for them.

No one could live in past. No matter how tough it would be, they still had to move on. Dead person had no future, but they do. Unlike Minato, the other SEES members would have to face their future, their tomorrow.

Shaking the gloomy thought aside, he left this place. If staying here longer than it should, he might not be able to take it. Then, he went to the bookshop ran by an old couple. They were still healthy and happy as always...although they showed a hint of sadness when looking at him. They said he reminded them a dear young boy. His felt the pain as if someone clutched and squeezed it.

Feeling difficult to breathe, he quickly left the bookshop. This was good for him and the old couple. He was dead. He shouldn't disturb their life again. It would be better to not meet them.

He felt a hole in his heart. He walked around the town without knowing where to go. He simply went to watch a movie, and then ate his favorite ramen. Oh god, he missed that flavor so much. It felt so good to be able to eat Hagakure ramen again.

After finished his lunch, he finally thought of a place he wanted to visit. Without wasting time, he immediately headed there.

… …

He put down the flower bought on the way to the grave. Looking at the name carved on the grave, he smiled bitterly.

"It's been a while, Shinjiro-senpai."

He didn't know what to say to Shinjiro, he just wanted to pay him a visit. As a dead person, it sure sounded weird, but he guessed Shinjiro would just shrug it off. In this world, Shinjiro was dead. He couldn't save him. Fortunately, Shinjiro was able to survive in Hamuko's world. He could imagine the happy face of Akihiko-senpai and Mitsuru-senpai. It's too bad he couldn't see it with his eyes.

Recalling the life he had, Minato smiled. Shinjiro never regreted his decision, and so him. He would find out the cause of everything and return to the seal, along with Hamuko.

"...This would probably the last time I come here. Farewell, senpai."

Just as he about to leave, he heard some voices.

"Why there's a bunch of flowers here?"

"Is it from Shinjiro-san's friends?"

"...I doubt it."

Behind the tree, Minato rubbed his hair in frustration. Why did he hide? He looked different now. He should be able to walk away by ignoring them.

But…

He knew he couldn't do it.

Those were Akihiko, Ken, and Aigis. There's no way he could walk away like nothing. Even now, he felt something was clutching his heart that made him felt difficult to breathe.

After a while, he saw his friends walked to the corner to another grave. He didn't know whose grave was that, but he had a feeling that that grave was his. His name should be on that grave.

From his position, he could see Aigis was kneeling in front of the grave, lifting a sad smile. Part of his heart was breaking because of that smile. It was him that she had that smile. It was him that they all had the same sad look. He left them with sad and bitter memories.

For a moment, he hated himself. Why did he put those precious in deep sadness? He turned his gaze away from his friends. He didn't dare to look at them anymore. Feeling guilty, he chose to escape from the truth.

He waited patiently until the trio left. Making sure they're leaving, he came out and walked to the grave, which the one Aigis kneeled.

Just as expected, it had his name written: Minato Arisato.

It felt so awkward to see his own grave. He wanted to laugh, but he couldn't. Sadness turned into blood and dripped from his heart. He felt the bitterness in his mouth. Tears started to gather in his eyes. Damn, he wanted to cry now.

"Minato-san!?"

Aigis's voice startled him and managed to stop him from crying out. He widened his eyes, staring at the android before him.

"Minato-san...you're Minato-san?"

She hadn't changed at all...he smiled, but quickly dismissed it.

"...My name is Makoto Yuki, not Minato."

No matter how he couldn't admit it. He couldn't bear to hurt her again.

Upon hearing that, the light in her eyes died out. She smiled bitterly and apologized to him.

"...I'm sorry. Y-You looked a lot like Minato-san…"

She looked like almost cried out. Sighing, he looked at the grave and then looking back to Aigis.

"...Minato is the one under this grave, right? I don't mind you see me like him." He said. "Do you have anything you want to tell me?"

Aigis blinked for a while. Flustering, she lowered her head and covered the look on her face.

"...I'm sorry."

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry Minato-san...I swore to stay by your side to protect you, but I...I broke the promise. I don't even know the responsibility you're carrying. I was...we were so upset by your death and started ignoring each other. But...that's wrong." Biting her lip, Aigis lifted her head with some tears on the face. "You have done so much for us. You protected all of us. We should embrace your will and continue living. That's what we should do to repay you. Thank you Minato-san. From now on, I will protect the world you protected."

Her smile was so bright. It lighted up his heart.

"...I want to say sorry, too." He slowly spoke, ignoring her shock. "I'm sorry for leaving all of you in such a pain. I know the difficulty to overcome the sadness of losing someone precious. Even so, you all understand me. It is lonely to be left behind, however, instead of your tears, I want to your smile. You deserve the future. I'm sure you will continue living to the end, see the world for me." At the end, he smiled - a soft yet a sad smile. "Thank you."

"Minato-san…"

"...I'm sure this is what he wants to tell you, too."

Wiping the tears from her face, Aigis let out a soft chuckle.

"...You really look a lot like him, Makoto-san." It seemed his words lifted some of her sadness. Minato could see that from her smile. "Thank you...I feel a lot better now. Although you're not him...but you sound just like him."

His felt the pain again. Seeing Aigis went off, Minato let out a shaky sigh.

He never felt so bad for lying to his friends. He didn't know when did he read the message from Yu, or how did he head to Paulownia Mall. When he reached Club Escapade, he only saw Kanji and Teddie were laying on the ground, with Kanji passed out.

"...What are you guys doing here?" He pointed at Yu. "And what is that?"

Currently, Yosuke was riding on top of Yu and acting stupid. When Yosuke saw Minato, he was shocked and fell down.

"N-N-N-N-N-N-NO! You didn't see anything, alright!?" OMG, this was so embarrassing!

"Oh, Goooood to see you hereeee...hehee...let's play the game together!"

Yukiko and Rise were clearly drunk. Minato wondered what was that they drank. They couldn't have drunk alcohol, right?

He sat down beside Yu, frowning when Yu explained the situation. King's Game? This was lame.

"Ahahaha, me next! Me! I'm the King! Actually, the Queen!"

"Hey, you don't even pick the chopstick!"

The game was obviously going out of control. Yukiko broke the rule and picked Naoto as her target, to spill out his secret. The shorter boy raised a smile and clearly was looking for this opportunity.

"One stipulation, though: if I do this, the rest of you must reveal "something" as well." He adjusted his hat, straightened his posture. "Not particularly embarrassing experiences come to mind...Would discussing my life be fair game? It's a rare situation like this gives me call to speak of such things. "

"Damn...way to kill the mood…" Minato turned his gaze to Yosuke, who was sighing at the moment. Their gazes met, and both let out a bitter smile.

"The Shirogane family has been detectives for generations now. We lend our powers to the police from time to time. In days gone by, when they were no crime scene investigators, consulting detectives were considered more valuable. Thus, my grandfather still has a strong connection with the police and look after me, despite my youth and inexperience."

He paused for a while, and the continued.

"But investigators nowadays are well versed in science and medicine, so I must further my studies. Ahm...if you are looking for my any embarrassing experience, I fear you may be looking to the wrong person."

Well, he might not have any embarrassing experience, but he was embarrassing them. Minato covered his mouth unconsciously, feeling funny and stupid to have the desire to dig anything out from Naoto.

"That's sooooo embarrassing! Isn't Naoto-kun embarrassing?"

"Well then, it's your turn now." Naoto crossed his arms, eyes locking on Yu and Minato "A straight answer, please. What is your true involvement with the murder case?"

"Rescuing people, of course~" Out of the blue, Yukiko suddenly yelled. "We go rescuing people who've been kidnapped by jumping into the TV!"

Oh well, it was too late to stop her. Although Chie tried to cover her mouth, Yukiko just pushed her away and continued leaking the information.

Ermm...anyway, it sounded unreal to normal people as Naoto frowned and having a confused look. It would be good if he thought those were simply nonsense from a drunk.

"Are you making fun of me?"

Staring at Naoto's disappointed face, Minato wondered the motive he brought the topic up here. The case was closed. There's no reason for doing this.

"...I see now that you have no intention of telling me the truth."

"Is that really matter to you? If you don't believe us, don't ever ask." Minato said coldly, intentionally.

He could see Naoto's face turned sour. He let out a sigh, standing up from the seat.

"Sorry. By the way...I'm curious. How did you become so inebriated? That isn't alcohol."

"Sheesh! Somebody just put them on the bed!"

On the way back, Yu approached Minato.

"Are you okay?"

"...I'm fine. Just feeling bad for lying to my friends." Smiling bitterly, he explained the things happened at the grave.

"I see...but you're doing the right things." He patted his shoulder. "Tell me if anything bothers you. I may not help you, but at least I can share your burden."

Minato smiled, nodded.

"...Sure. Thank you."

Although he wasn't telling Aigis with his real identity, he hoped his words would help. He was Makoto Yuki, but he was Minato Arisato. Those words came from Minato, from deep of his heart.

* * *

"Oh man! This is really something!"

Chewing the ramen, Chie squeaked.

"This place serves the best ramen in town."

"Yeah, that's right. I use to hang out here often." Minato said timidly to Yu, who was sitting opposite him.

"Um...Rise-chan, do you remember what happened last night? I don't remember much about it…" Yukiko said on confusion.

Hearing that, everyone sweatdropped.

"Oh I think the two of us fell asleep quick. I heard it got pretty wild, though."

It was considered good that both Rise and Yukiko didn't remember the incident last night. If they did, they would probably dig a hole and hide inside.

"Huh? Where is my bowl!?" Gasping, Yukiko quickly looked for her bowl of ramen. She looked around, and found the bear beside her was stunning. "What? You didn't eat it...did you?"

"Ermm...you didn't finish it, so…"

"I was going to finish it!"

"Wait Teddie, how many bowls have you eaten!?" Feeling weird, Yosuke counted the empty bowls. "One, two...t-ten bowls!? You idiot!"

"Yuki-chan's makes it eleven, hehe…"

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but it's close to the meeting time." Finishing her bowl of ramen, Naoto stood from the seat and prepared to leave. "See you later."

"N-Naoto-kun…"

"We're going, too. Hey, Ted!"

"How about you, Minato?" Yu asked.

"I'm going back with train. It may be late, don't wait for me."

"Alright. What's wrong, Yosuke?"

"He...ain't moving!"

"Urrrpppp...my tummy is heavy."

"Leave it behind." Still angry with the bear, Yukiko turned around and left the shop, without waiting for the others.

"Y-Yukiko, wait for me!" Chie chased after her.

The others stared at the bear, shaking their heads. Yosuke left some money to Teddie, telling him to go back by train when he could move later.

"Y-Yosuke! Sensei!"

Seeing that, Minato burst out a laugh. He walked closer to the bear, raising an evil smile.

"Hey Teddie, you do remember what I said, right?"

"H-Huh?"

Minato took the money left by Yosuke into his pocket.

"I'll make you pay for you have done to me, so I guess...this is farewell. Enjoy your trip here."

"W-Wait, Minato-chan! I did give you the glasses, right? That should pay it!"

"What?" Minato glared at him, huffing. "Do you think a glasses enough for that? Well then, see you again...if you're able to get back to Inaba."

"Wait...I don't have the money for the return ticket!"

Minato shrugged. It was none of his matter.

Ignoring Teddie, he walked out from the ramen shop and went to buy a souvenir for Hamuko.

"Minato-chan~~~~~"

* * *

Here is the chapter 10. Hello everyone.

I'm really sorry for the late update. I was busying celebrate Chinese New Year here, although I barely go anywhere for vacation…

By the way, can you imagine Minato's new look in this chapter? I kind of drew one myself, but he looks rather funny under my pencil…So, I will leave it to your imagination.

Alright, I will see you in chapter 11. See you again.


	11. Chapter 11

"Welcome, how may I...um, help you…?"

Minato tilted his head, frowning as he looked at the boy before him.

"Hello, Minato-san." The boy, Naoto Shirogane greeted him.

"...It's been a while." It was quite surprised to see Naoto here ever since Tatsumi Port Island Trip. Minato stopped the works on hands.

"Minato-san, there's something I need to discuss with you...regarding the culprit of the serial murder case." Naoto leaned closer to Minato, making sure no one else would overhear their conversation. "Could you please indulge my current theory on the matter?"

"...What is it?" Minato frowned. It was completely unexpected coming from Naoto.

Pausing for a while, Naoto took a brief moment before speaking. It seemed he hesitated.

"First, as regards the commonalities between the victims, all of them were kidnapped before they were murdered. The victims were all locals who had been the focus of recent media attention, becoming suddenly well-known. That is the most likely scenario. I believe you and your team came up with the same conclusion, right?"

Minato crossed his arms, nodding lightly as the response. Naoto continued.

"...There was a long interval between the second and the third deaths in this case. After I applied aforementioned criteria, I discovered several similar disappearances had taken place. You know them the most. Yukiko Amagi, Kanji Tatsumi, and Rise Kujikawa. They disappeared shortly after being shown on TV. You appeared in this town after the disappearance of Kanji Tatsumi and marked yourself as the high potential killer. But thinking the time point of the first and second murder, and the disappearance of Yukiko Amagi and Kanji Tatsumi, your suspicious should be erased."

"...What do you mean 'should be'?" He was innocent, no doubt.

"...Yes, because I suspected one of your team members should be the culprit. However, putting together everything I've learned until this moment, I believe exactly the opposite. Instead, you're the one saving people and pursued the true killer. Ever since you reveal your identity as Minato Arisato, I know you're not the culprit. I was trying to deny it at that moment, but I know I am correct."

Naoto's eyes softened, and he once again apologized for his rudeness. Minato simply shrugged and told him to continue.

"Back to the topic, there is, in fact, a flaw in the theory, that's Mr. Morooka's murder. He had never been broadcast on television, and neither did he ever disappear, and considering the condition of the corpse, Mr. Morooka died of an easily identifiable blunt force trauma to the occipital cranium. It was completely different than the first two victims. Don't you think this is suspicious?"

"...Indeed. So, is that what you want to say?"

"There are more. Please listen to this carefully." Nodding, Naoto took another deep breath and started to explain his plan to Minato. It confused Minato at first, but when he came to understand Naoto's plan, he widened his eyes and looked at the shorter boy.

"...That's the plan."

"You…" Minato gulped and frowned. "This is dangerous! You think I will agree-"

"You will," Naoto said with firmed voice.

Hearing that, Minato's face turned sour.

"...Wait, am I that cold-hearted to you?"

This was depressing. Minato never knew he was such a person in Naoto's opinion.

"N-No, that's not what I'm trying to say!" Knowing the blue-haired boy misunderstood, Naoto quickly declared. "I tell you my plan because I think you're reliable, and I'm sure you doubt Mitsuo Kubo as the real culprit. To know whether the case is closed or not, this is the only chance."

"Even so…" Minato sighed, rubbing his hair in frustration. "This is too dangerous. There's no way I will let you do this alone."

"I'm not alone, Minato-san." Naoto smiled. "I need your help in this."

Raising his brows, Minato leaned closer to Naoto.

"What is it?"

"Save me in case I'm kidnapped. I know I can rely on you."

Staring at Naoto's smile, Minato was speechless. When everyone thought Mitsuo Kubo was the killer, Naoto denied it and agreed with his opinion. Part of him was grateful, but part of him was worried. Should he let Naoto do this? Should he agree to his plan?

Naoto patiently waited for his answer. Minato let out a small curse, finally giving in.

"...Alright. I'll promise you, I will save you no matter what."

"Thank you, Minato-san."

"...It is surprising that you come to me for this. We were trying to dig out our involvement in the case before."

Recalling the scene in the club, Minato let out a small chuckle, while the shorter boy lowered his head in embarrassment.

"...I give up on that. You were just making fun of me." He sighed, looking extremely unsatisfied. "Rather than digging from you guys, I figure it would be easy to start from Mr. Morooka. Maybe I can get something else from that."

Hearing that from Naoto, Minato realized that the boy was clearly piqued over the concealing of the case. He looked mature, but he could be childish at the same time.

"...Do you remember what I say before?" Closing one of his eyes, Minato leaned against the table. "Don't judge a book by its cover...the world is full of mystery. The things you see in your eyes are never the truth of everything. If you never come to touch with that side, you will never understand it."

"That...side?" Naoto raised his brows.

Smiling, Minato leaned closer to Naoto, almost touching his face.

"...The truth of Minato Arisato's death." Upon hearing that, Naoto was obviously stunned. Minato quickly changed the topic. "By the way...I was surprised that you don't believe words from a drunk."

"...How would I believe that?" Frowning, Naoto asked instead of answering his question.

Shaking his head, Minato chuckled.

"...True words only come from the drunk. Too bad you don't believe that. " As a detective, he seemed to rely on his eyes too much. Minato didn't want to point out at the moment, and he really hoped that the boy wouldn't touch with the secret of the TV World. With that in mind, he decided to change the topic again. "Anyway...about the plan, don't risk. Call me if anything happens."

Naoto nodded. "Thanks. I'll take note on that."

When he got back to Dojima Residence, Yu and Nanako were watching the TV News.

"Welcome back, Mokoto-san."

"I'm home, Nanako-chan." Minato walked to the table and sat down. "What's the news about?"

"It's about the Detective Prince."

 _"I'd hesitate to say that the matter is 'cleared up', as such. It's true that our suspect was behind Mr. Morooka's unfortunate death. But when I cast my eyes over the case as a whole, I detect a few things that seem out of place."  
_

Minato looked at the TV when Naoto made his statement. It seemed his plan started.

" _Unfortunately, I cannot divulge the details at this time. But this matter claimed the lives of three people. Hence, I believe even the smallest inconsistency must be investigated."_

His statement was going far more what Minato expected. Yu was raising his brows, pondering right now. Minato felt sorry for not telling Naoto's plan to Yu. But he was ready to face Yu if anything bad happened to Naoto.

He promised the boy, and he wouldn't run away from this. And the result was faster than he expected. During the rainy night, Yu and Minato checked on the Midnight Channel. Although it seemed peaceful recently, they didn't sure how long the peace would last. Furthermore, today's news made Naoto a potential victim. Yu wanted to check on it, just in case.

"...A silhouette appears."

"...Now I think about it, what this Midnight Channel is?" It seemed Yu knew who is the one showed up on the Midnight Channel. Minato simply gave him a glance, decided to remain silent. Just as the time, Yosuke's call came in.

What was Midnight Channel, huh? Good question. Minato never gave it a thought before. TV World was sure something similar to Tartarus, but what about Midnight Channel? A forecast of the next victim? No, it should be more than that.

Anyway...tomorrow he would be busy with the plan. Now that Naoto appeared on Midnight Channel, he was confirmed as the next victim. Now it was time to move.

* * *

Minato ran on the street, pressing his phone at the same time.

This was out of his expected.

He was trying to go back early today to check on Naoto. However, a sudden crowd struck into Junes and he had no choice but to attend the customers before going back. The sudden occur disrupted his plan.

He had called Naoto when leaving Junes, but no one picked up at all. Looking at the dark sky, Minato let out a curse. A bad feeling started to build and he forced himself to run after a long tired day.

Dammit!

Pressing the phone to his ear while taking a turn at the corner, he felt more anxious. Again, no one picked up the phone, as if Naoto had disappeared. He hated this idea, but this could be the only explanation. He stopped his pace to get a moment of rest as a truck went past. He took a look at the truck before resuming his pace, heading to Naoto's house.

"...!"

The door was opened and the light was on, but there's no trace of people inside. The house was empty without Naoto. He bit his bottom lip, giving a punch on the wall while cursing of his uselessness.

He gave himself a moment of rest to calm down. The culprit was way too fast to take his move this time. But it also proved that Mitsuo Kubo wasn't the true killer. The killer was still out there in the town. Naoto risked his life to prove that. He had to move on with the plan. With this in mind, he made a call to Yu.

* * *

 _"You shall witness my departure into a new realm...the moment of new birth! From the chosen day forth, I shall walk a completely different path in life. And I will share this glorious occasion, this memorable day with all of you. Do stay tuned!"  
_

Facepalming, Minato let out a desperate sigh.

"...So, is this what you are talking about?" Yu looked at Minato, deadpanned.

After Naoto was kidnapped, Minato immediately gave Yu a call and explained everything to him. Minato expected to be yelled, but Yu just told him to come back home to discuss the matters.

He knew Yu was angry, and he had prepared for this. Lifting his head, all he could do apologized over and over.

"...Sorry for not telling you this. I have prepared for everything." Slowly, Minato stood up from the seat. "But I have promised Naoto that I will save him if anything happens to him. You will come with me, right?"

Hearing that, Yu's face softened. Letting out a bitter smile, he patted Minato's shoulder.

"Of course I'm coming with you. Anyway, you'll have to take the responsibility and save Naoto...wait, Kanji's calling." Sighing, Yu responded the call.

Minato chuckled. The punk-like guy sure was worried about Naoto. He could hear Kanji's voice from here. Anyway...he could imagine how mad this guy would be if he knew the whole things. It seemed he had to prepare for it as well.

The next day, they gathered at Junes to discuss this matter. As expected, Kanji was greatly mad at Minato and Naoto. The other members were worried about Naoto more than angry at him. As Yu said, the first thing they needed to do was saving Naoto, and Minato had to take the whole responsible.

With this, they all went into TV World and searched for Naoto.

" _Someone's definitely in here. And the world seems to have grown larger."_ Rise summoned her persona and concentrated in her searching. _"It's the same as last time. I know he's here, but I can't tell where…"_

"It seems we need clues."

Minato took a step forward. "I think I can help you on that, Rise."

"D-Do you know about Naoto?" Kanji was shocked. His voice also trembled due to unknown reason.

"...Sort of." Recalling the time he had with Naoto, Minato could kind of understand Naoto's true nature under the mask. He might not be correct at all, but it shouldn't too far from it.

Minato told whatever he knew about Naoto to Rise, like Naoto was mature and childish at the same time, how he dislike being treated like a child. Rise listened to him carefully while having her persona to search.

 _"I see...I can't imagine Naoto-kun acted like that at all. Alright, leave it to me. I guess it shouldn't be a problem now."_

While they were waiting for Rise, Kanji seemed extremely unsatisfied. He refused to look at Minato as if he was jealous.

"What is it, Kanji?"

"N-No, it's...nothing."

"Just tell me straight if something is bothering you. Is it because of Naoto?"

Kanji's face burned up, clearly flustered.

"N-No, that...that's n-not the problem…!"

Minato sighed. No matter how much he tried to deny it, the fact was there. Kanji did care a lot about Naoto.

"Don't worry Kanji, I only see Naoto as kohai."

"H-Huh? I-I'm not w-worried at all…!"

Yep, he was obviously worried. Minato rolled his eyes while the others chuckled at Kanji's childish behavior. Well, at least Minato didn't want any misunderstanding happened among themselves.

" _Guys, I got it. Please follow me!"_

… …

"What is this place?"

Everyone was shocked by the appearance of the place. So, this was the true nature of Naoto?

"It's all sci-fi...hey, doesn't it remind you of those secret hideouts in live action shows?"

"Oh yeah...I used to watch Featherman all the time when I was a kid."

"So...this secret hideout thingy came from Naoto's mind? I guess our detective boy isn't as grown-up as he looks."

"Minato-san does say Naoto-kun is mature and childish at the same time, but only pretends that he is mature. Deep down, he is just a little boy." Rise smiled bitterly.

Little boy, huh? Minato shrugged. Well then, he would let the dungeon told the story itself.

"Alright, let's get going."

* * *

Sorry...this chapter seems a bit shorter than the others. Anyway, chapter 11 is up. I guess it almost reaches the plot twist of the story. Hopefully, I can handle the plot twist without breaking the story too much.

But I have a more serious problems here…

…

…

…

Many ideas stick in my mind and I can't help! I want to write them out! *cry*

I am writing three of them at the moment, including P4G: Messiah. The other two stories are yet to publish. What can I do? I don't have time, but the ideas keep coming up. *cry*

Anyway...see you next time.


	12. Chapter 12

"W-What…?" Naoto stammered. "Y-You knew I'm...I'm a girl?"

"I'm...kind of knowing it." Feeling diffident, Minato trailed his eyes off Naoto and decided to push the ball to Yu. "How about you, Yu?"

"You knew it too, Yu-kun?" Yukiko and Chie let out a small gasp, while the guys widened their eyes in shock, especially Kanji.

"He's...not a guy!?"

"Well...I kind of notice the unusualness." Yu scratched his cheek. "But I only confirm it until this moment."

"T-That's not the issue!" Naoto screamed in embarrassment.

" _Hahaha...not an issue? Then, why are you mimicking those same men? What's the point? What exactly are you trying to justify?"_ Shadow Naoto laughed, shaking her head repeatedly.

"What…?" Biting her bottom lip, Naoto clenched her fist tightly. "You think I want to be a girl? I don't even have a chance to choose my gender! That's why I…!"

" _You needn't suffer anymore. That's why you're undergoing this body alteration produce to begin with. Turn into a man...that's what you wish, right? Since I am you."_

"That's...not true! I become a man because I want to be, even I am not the one to begin with! What's wrong with that!?" Ignoring the team, Naoto shouted at her Shadow. "Don't pretend you know me! You're nothing like me!"

"Urg-oh…"

"What's wrong with that? We'll just do our things, like the previous, right?" Huffing, Kanji took a step forward.

"Wow...looks who's talking here?" Yosuke shrugged, letting out a small laughter while taking out his weapon.

"But Kanji's beary right!"

"Yeah, I totally agree with that!"

"Look, they're all fired up." Sighing, Minato rubbed his hair, smiling bitterly. He was the one responsible for this, right? Now it seemed everyone took it as theirs.

Such a warm feeling to have comrades to support at the back. It lifted a lot of his burden.

"Kanji's telling the truth, that's all." Yu grinned.

" _Hahahaha...finally, I am free! I am not you...so you better die here!"_

Shadow Naoto turned into a figure with robotic wings and ray guns. It flew up to the sky, looking at the team from up.

"Guys, leave Naoto-kun to me! Please be careful!" Rise took Naoto in her arms, pulling her away from the battlefield. She then summoned Himiko to help the team.

Suddenly, a ray surrounded the team. They shocked, ready to face any attack coming from Shadow. However, it didn't feel hurt or pain or anything, but something did feel wrong.

"W-What's that?"

" _Take this!"_

Shadow Naoto used Mabufudyne on them. Yukiko managed to dodge the attack, but the others all got hit, even Chie.

"W-Why!? My persona should nullify the Ice attack!" Chie rubbed her knee, feeling numb for the moment. She had a hard time to remain her balance and fell to her back.

Seeing that, Yosuke rushed to her. Shadow Naoto took the chance and cast Garudyne on him. The fierce wind blew him away from reaching Chie.

"Yosuke!"

"Dammit!" Twitching his face, Yosuke tried to endure the pain in his back.

"Chie! Yosuke-kun!" Yukiko summoned Amaterasu to heal them. However, before she could do so, Shadow Naoto charged out on her by launching an assault. Gasping, knowing she couldn't dodge it, she shut her eyes closed.

"Yukiko!"

Opening one of her eyes, she saw the gray-haired boy shielded her, while Kanji and Teddie ran circle to the back of Shadow Naoto and attacked.

"T-Thank you, Yu-kun, Kanji-kun, and Teddie…" Sighing, Yukiko quickly heals Chie and Yosuke.

" _Guys, be extra careful. Your elements resistance has been nullified!"_ Rise let out a small gasp.

"That's the cause, huh…?" Yosuke groaned in pain. Even Diarahan healed the wound, it didn't wipe off the pain.

"Yu, we need a strategy." Minato changed his persona to Thanatos. Orpheus Telos was a good choice, but not under this condition. It didn't change the fact which persona to use now. By all means, he decided Thanatos would be the best choice.

"...Yukiko, you are the main healer. I'll leave it to you!"

"Roger!"

"Teddie and Yosuke, support us with any skills you have! The others, attack Shadow Naoto!"

"""Yes!"""

"Explore weakness!"

Everyone used their perspective element attack on Shadow Naoto, trying to figure out its weakness. However, the result was disappointed. They couldn't figure anything from the attack.

"No element weakness!"

Seeing that, Minato summoned Thanatos and used Brave Blade to see if the attack worked on Shadow Naoto. But the result was same. Shadow Naoto did receive damage, but the damage seemed to be minor.

"...The physical attack doesn't seem to be her weakness as well…"

Meaning Shadow Naoto had no weakness. It seemed this was going to be a tough and lengthy fight. Minato let out a small curse, returning to the others' side.

"Everyone, just use your best attack! Yukiko, focus on healing!" Yu ordered, changing to Hariti. He chose this persona because Hariti consisted healing, supporting and attacking magic. Even if anyone of them was unable, he could take the role. For attacking, he would rely on Minato and the others.

Seeing the choice of his persona, Minato knew exactly what in his mind. Looking at the team, excluding Yukiko, Teddie, and Yosuke, he, Kanji and Chie would be the only main attackers. They would charge out without worrying about healing or supporting.

A wise tactic sounded like the plan Yu would choose.

"Thanatos!"

"Suzuka Gongen!"

"Rokuten Maou!"

The three of them summoned their personas and charged out. At the same time, Yosuke used Masukukaja, while Teddie used Matarukaja on them. Yu also used Marakukaja to ensure their defenses.

Oh the other hand, Shadow Naoto used Heat Riser on herself. Rise immediately detected the raising of her status and informed the team.

Their attacks were difficult to hit Shadow Naoto after boosting her status. Still, some of the attacks landed on her, minor damage though.

" _How dare you…!"_ Cursing, Shadow Naoto cast Maragidyne.

Unable to dodge it, Chie was hit and fell to her knee.

"Hmm...I can still...fight!"

"Chie, hold on!" Seeing that, Yukiko quickly cast Diarahan on her, while Yu helped Chie to get up on her feet.

"Kanji, don't get distracted!" Minato shouted, unsheathing his sword and rushed to Shadow Naoto. With Shadow Naoto in mid-air, a normal attack couldn't reach to her. To get to her, Thanatos grabbed his arm and tossed him up to the air. "I'm going to save Naoto...take this!"

Thorning down his sword, Minato sprinted down quickly, aiming to Shadow Naoto. However, Shadow Naoto simply raised her arm to defend and sent him a sidekick.

" _Save me? Hah, what a joke!"_ Shadow Naoto grabbed Minato's neck, lifting her arm. _"Just lie down and let me drill holes on your body!"_

"Minato!"

Yu and Yosuke summoned their personas at the same time. Ice froze Shadow Naoto's arm, while the wind blew Minato off from her.

"Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" While Shadow Naoto with her arm froze, Kanji immediately followed up the attack. He might not as smart as Yu and Minato, but he was powerful on the battlefield.

" _Argh!"_

"Here...take this!" Suzuka Gongen threw out her long blade, hitting Shadow Naoto with critically. "This is my revenge!"

"You okay, Minato-san?"

"...I'm fine." Minato nodded to Yukiko to assure her again.

" _Why won't you all lie down and die!? You children can't do anything at all!"_

"What's that? Compare to Shadow Rise, you're nothing!" Kanji yelled out. Hearing that, Rise alerted and complained.

"What do you mean by that, stupid Kanji!" Her face was as red as the tomato.

"...Although I feel sorry for Rise, Kanji does have point." Yu chuckled bitterly, and everyone agreed with him.

"Senpai…!" Rise covered her face. "I hate you, Kanji!"

"Alright everyone, let's continue attacking her!" Yu announced, pointing at Shadow Naoto.

The fight continued. Minato, Chie and Kanji still the main attackers, while Yukiko remained as the healer, and Yosuke and Teddie as supporters. The fight lasted longer than expected, but Shadow Naoto eventually went down after a while.

"Guys, a little more! She's weaker now!" Rise informed the team.

" _Why...why struggle so much!?"_

Shadow Naoto cast Maragidyne. The air filled with the burned smell. Her magic laid on the three attackers and hit Chie badly. However, her wound was rapidly healed with Yukiko and Yu cast healing magic.

"Why struggle so much?" Thanatos winded to her back, blade ready to wield down. Minato glared at Shadow Naoto with evoker pointed at his forehead. His breath was unstable. He was clearly exhausted at this moment. "...To defeat you, of course."

Thanatos wielded his blade down fiercely, slashing Shadow Naoto with no mercy. Without the way to resist, Shadow Naoto let out a scream and fell down to the ground.

" _Argh…!"_

She tried to struggle to get up, but her strength no permitted. Soon, she collapsed and returned to human form.

The real Naoto slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw Rise's surprised yet relieved face.

"Oh...you're awake!"

"I'm…" Naoto rubbed her head, having a hard time to remember what was happened a moment ago. Then, she saw the team and Minato gathered around her. "Minato-san...and everyone. yeah... I remember you all arriving, and…"

Her gaze trailed to the one before her, the same face of her, the one she's denying all the times.

" _... …"_

Shadow Naoto remained unmoved, watching at Naoto.

"...Naoto, although I have no right to say this…" Sighing, Minato scratched his cheek while taking a step closer to Naoto. "It's time you should accept for who you are. We were born without the way to choose our gender. Why not proof yourself as a remarkable person and cross the border of gender?"

Naoto first bit her bottom lip with a sad look. But then she lifted her head, sighing deeply.

"...I'm sort of like you, Minato-san. I lost both my parents in an accident. I was still young, so my grandfather took me in. I was inept at making friends...so I spent my times reading detective novels in my grandfather's study."

" _When I grow up...I'm gonna be an awesome, hard-boiled detective…!"_

Naoto nodded as to agree to Shadow Naoto's words.

"My parents were proud of their job. I have no qualms about following in their footsteps. An inherited occupation can feel stifling to many, but I welcomed it. I yearned for the day I could be a detective myself...Perhaps I inherited that desire from them as well."

She paused for a while, lowering her head staring at her feet.

"I was always alone...seeing that, my grandfather must have believed it was his duty to help me realize my dream. I secretly aided my grandfather with his clients...and before I knew it, people started calling me Junior Detective. At first, I was delighted, but not everything went so smoothly…"

"Naoto-kun…"

"Not everyone welcomes my collaboration when it comes to solving cases. My status as a child was sufficient to offend many of those whom I worked with. Were that the only issue, then it would have resolved itself with time. But though I would one day change from a child to an adult, I will never change from a woman to a man."

Yukiko shook her head, smiling at Naoto.

"...Naoto-kun, you must know already that what you yearned for isn't to become an adult or become a boy, right?"

Her smile was so soft that it melted the ice within Naoto's heart. She looked at those gathered around her. Yu, Yosuke, Chie, Kanji, Yukiko, Rise, Teddie...and Minato. They looked at her as Naoto Shirogane, not a detective her, nor a boy version of Naoto Shirogane.

It was her, only her.

She let out a small chuckle, looking straight to Shadow Naoto. It was the same face of her, the childish her, the girly of part her...the part she kept denying.

"I'm sorry...I kept ignoring you, pretending you didn't exist. But you are me...and I am you. You've always been inside of me. What I should yearn for...no, what I should strive for isn't to become a man." Naoto looked to Minato who stood not far from her. "It's to accept myself for who I really am."

Shadow Naoto let out some dazzling light, transforming from a shadow to persona Sukuna Hikona resided within Naoto.

After the long event, her strength had finally come to limit. She collapsed right after accepting her persona.

"Naoto!"

"Naoto-kun!"

Watching at their worried faces, Naoto couldn't help but sigh and smiled bitterly. She then looked at Minato.

"...So, this is what you call 'that side', huh?" She leaned against Yukiko for some supports. "Never judge a book by its cover...now I fully understand it."

"Don't say anything now. You should leave and get some rest."

"...The case...now we know it's far from over."

"Yeah, you prove it, Naoto." Yosuke sighed at her reckless operation.

"We can talk about this later. Kanji, can you help her to get out?" Yu asked.

"H-Huh!?" Kanji's face immediately burned. He was clearly flustered than before. "N-No way!"

"Aww...Kanji, you're such a dumb." Rise rolled her eyes, walking to Naoto and grabbed her instead.

"H-Hey, what do you mean by that!?"

* * *

Leaving Naoto with the girls, Yu and Minato headed home straightly to get some rest.

It was an exhausting day, and Minato missed the sofa at home so much that he could fall to sleep once hitting it.

However, when they got back home, they saw two pairs of shoes at the entrance.

"Heyyyy, welcome backkkkk!"

Minato immediately twisted his brow at the drunk man Adachi. He nodded to Dojima who was sitting on the couch and then walked up to the second floor.

"Minato…"

"Sorry, but I'm tired."

He could see Yu sighed and then gave him a wave. He knew it was rather rude since Adachi was a guest at home, but he really had no mood to entertain him.

He wasn't the owner of the house, either. It wasn't his responsibility, right?

He shrugged off the little guilty in his heart, closing the door behind and jumped to the sofa.

Today was tired...but he glad that they were able to save Naoto. To tell the truth, if anything happened to Naoto, he would never be able to forgive himself. Naoto trusted him so much and even told him the whole plan, wishing for nothing, only to save her if she was kidnapped.

If he failed to do that...he couldn't imagine it.

As he thought deeper, he almost fell into sleep, but only woke up by Dojima's shouting.

"Adachi! How many times I gotta say it!? Quit running your mouth like that!"

"Whoa! S-Sorry!"

Minato sat up, rubbing his eyes to listen to the conversation.

"Alright, see here!" It didn't seem Dojima was talking to Adachi, maybe to Yu? "Don't worry about the case. Just go study like a normal student. If you don't…"

Dojima's voice died out, and then someone walked away. It seemed Dojima didn't finish his talk and walked off.

What a detective Dojima was. He impressed Minato a lot. In some ways, he could stand against Naoto. He was so attentive to small details. Judging from the conversation, he must have noticed something unusual of Yu. Minato had no idea how Yu revealed hints to Dojima, but with Dojima's ability, he might have noticed from other aspects.

Later, when Adachi left, Yu got back to his room. He was surprised to see Minato was still awake.

"I thought you must have slept."

"...I was, but Dojima-san's voice caught my attention." Minato yawned. "He warned you, is it?"

"...Yeah, it's kind of a warning." Sighing, Yu took out the futon. "His instinct is terrible."

"You'll have to more careful."

Yu nodded. He knew it more than anyone.

"We know that the culprit is still at large, thanks to Naoto. However, we still don't know how we can reach to the culprit."

"Yeah...we have no clue about the culprit…" Something went across Minato's mind. Before Minato could catch it, it disappeared. "...?"

"What is it, Minato?"

"Uh...no, nothing."

Strange...he thought off something just now, and it seemed to be an important hint. But he couldn't remember it now...what is it?

"...I guess we should ask Naoto more about this when she's fully recovered. She's ready for this, so she may have hints." Yu said. "I'm pretty tired too...good night, Minato."

"Uh...yeah, good night."

Switching off the light, they both went to the bed. However, the strange feeling lingered in his mind that he was destined to not be able to sleep well.

* * *

Alright...sorry for the late update. I know I'm super late for this chapter…

Okay, now, I'm finally done with Naoto's side. The next will go into Nanako's. Twist plot will start from here, and the character that appears in the first chapter will show up in the twisted plot.

I'm not sure the next chapter is going to be late or not...so hope you stay tuned.

Thank you~


End file.
